Evarcha soricina ( Thorell, 1899 ) Haddad & Wiśniewski & Wesołowska, 2024

Haddad, Charles Richard, Wiśniewski, Konrad & Wesołowska, Wanda, 2024, The jumping spiders of Mozambique (Araneae: Salticidae), Zootaxa 5560 (1), pp. 1-92 : 17-19

Evarcha soricina ( Thorell, 1899) comb. nov.

Fig. 10

Marptusa soricina Thorell, 1899: 91 (♂).

Marpissa soricina (Thorell) : Prószyński 1984: fig. on p 139.

Diagnosis. This species can be recognized by the unique embolic structure. The embolus is accompanied by a terminal apophysis, which has a small membranous flange. The structure of the embolus is similar to that in Evarcha brinki Haddad & Wesołowska, 2011 from South Africa, but the tibial apophysis is different: E. soricina has a single apophysis whereas E. brinki has two very short apophyses—compare Fig. 10D with fig. 29 in Haddad & Wesołowska (2011). The female remains unknown.

Material examined. MOZAMBIQUE: Tete: no further details, 1♂ ( SMF 9680 ). Specimen in poor condition, dried .

Redescription. Male: Measurements. Cephalothorax length 3.6, width 2.7, height 1.7. Eye field length 1.4, anterior and posterior width 2.2. Abdomen length 4.0, width? General appearance as in Fig. 10A . Specimen slightly damaged, dried in the past. Carapace pear-shaped, widest at legs III, moderately high, gently sloping posteriorly. Colouration of carapace dark brown, eye field slightly darker, with black area near eyes. Dorsum clothed in short greyish hairs, with long bristles near eyes, anterior eyes encircled by whitish scales. Chelicerae dark brown, unidentati. Labium and endites light brown with pale tips, sternum light brown.Abdomen long and narrow (probably misshapen; specimen in poor condition, previously dried), greyish-beige with yellowish median streak extending in chevrons posteriorly, venter grey with two lines formed by light dots. Long bristles at anterior edge of abdomen. Spinnerets grey. Legs I and II dark brown, III and IV lighter. First legs larger than others, with very dense dark hairs, especially on ventral surfaces of tibiae and metatarsi. Palp dark brown, bearing long dense hairs; tibial apophysis short, single ( Fig. 10D, E ), embolus accompanied by terminal apophysis ( Fig. 10B, C ).

Distribution. This is only the second record of this species, which was described from Cameroon.

Remarks. Prószyński (1984) studied the holotype of this species, and his figures allowed us to determine the identity of the Mozambique specimen. In a preliminary phylogenetic analysis of South African Salticidae based on the DNA barcoding gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and sequences deposited in the SPIZA project on BOLD (www.boldsystems.org), E. brinki was well nested within a large Evarcha Simon, 1902 clade also including E. prosimilis , E. mirabilis Wesołowska & Haddad, 2009 , E. karas Wesołowska, 2011 , E. denticulata Wesołowska & Haddad, 2013 and an undetermined species, but excluding E. striolata Wesołowska & Haddad, 2009 (Haddad unpublished data). As E. brinki appears to be the most closely related species to E. soricina based on palpal morphology, it is likely that E. soricina will also be nested within Evarcha if included in a molecular phylogeny in the future.

Figures

FIGURE 10. Evarcha soricina (Thorell, 1899), male. A. General appearance, dorsal view; B, C. Palpal organ, ventral view; D. Same, lateral view; E. Tibial apophysis, dorsal view.