Myrmarachne morningside, Benjamin, 2015

Benjamin, Suresh P., 2015, Model mimics: antlike jumping spiders of the genus Myrmarachne from Sri Lanka, Journal of Natural History 49 (43), pp. 2609-2666 : 2628-2629

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00222933.2015.1034209

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B723C180-996B-471D-B920-4D08E7A8CD53

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4333066

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/F40F2403-68AE-4FCC-8A26-3192D1B7DA21

taxon LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:act:F40F2403-68AE-4FCC-8A26-3192D1B7DA21

treatment provided by

Carolina

scientific name

Myrmarachne morningside
status

sp. nov.

Myrmarachne morningside View in CoL sp. nov.

( Figures 20A–D View Figure 20 , 21A–D View Figure 21 , 22A–D View Figure 22 )

Type material

Holotype. male from Sri Lanka, Sabaragamuuwa Province , Ratnapura District , Eastern Sinharaja, Morningside section , 23 February 2007, SP. Benjamin and Z. Jaleel, MHNG.

Paratype

Male from Sri Lanka, same data as holotype.

Etymology

The specific name is a noun in apposition taken from the type locality.

Diagnosis

Very similar in outward appearance to M. spissa . Separated from it by the diskshaped tegulum and shiny appearance, mostly of the dorsal parts of the prosoma. In addition M. spissa has a pair of long whitish setae at about the centre of its prosoma, which are absent in M. morningside . Very similar in size, habitat preference and genital morphology to M. paludosa comb. nov. and M. aurantiaca sp. nov. M. paludosa comb. nov. has an upward pointing, tapering RTA and M. aurantiaca sp. nov. has an RTA with a curved base. It is predicted that females of this species would have an elongated S similar to other endemic Myrmarachne of the island.

Description

Male holotype from Morningside: total length: 5.6; prosoma length: 3.5, width: 1.0. Leg I: femur 1.1, patella 0.4, tibia 1.1, metatarsus 1.0, tarsus 0.4. Prosoma oval, 1.5× long than wide. Opisthosoma oval, 2× longer than wide, constricted at the centre of the anterior half. Uniformly black in colour, legs a lighter yellow-brown. Prosoma and opisthosoma are both covered with fine whitish hairs. Chelicerae, somewhat longer than carapace, anteriorly bulb-like, tapering towards the base, dentition not examined. Leg formula 4132. Leg spination not examined. Male palps as in Figures 21C, D View Figure 21 , 22A–D View Figure 22 . Female unknown.

Distribution

Endemic to Sri Lanka.

Natural history

Collected together with ants of the genus Camponotus – probably the same species collected with M. paludosa comb. nov. However, it is not the Camponotus species found with M. prava .

Other material examined

Sri Lanka, Sabaragamuwa province, 1 male, Ratnapura District, Gilimale Forest Reserve , 23 February 2007, SP. Benjamin and Z. Jaleel, MHNG .

MHNG

Switzerland, Geneva, Museum d'Histoire Naturelle

MHNG

Museum d'Histoire Naturelle

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Arachnida

Order

Araneae

Family

Salticidae

Genus

Myrmarachne

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