Myrmarachne aff. tristis ( Simon, 1882 )

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 : 2658-2660

Myrmarachne aff. tristis ( Simon, 1882)

( Figure 38A–D )

Salticus tristis Simon, 1882: 212 .

Remarks

Provisional identification is based on the description of the tristis -group by Wanless (1978).

Diagnosis

Small spiders, separated from all other Sri Lankan species of the genus by the chelicerae: shorter than the prosoma, fangs with a bulbous base ( Figure 38A, B ). Further, the disk-shaped male palp, with the embolus positioned on the borders of the tegulum ( Figure 38C, D ) is characteristic.

Male. total length: 5.6; prosoma length: 3.2, width: 1.2. Leg I: femur 1.2, patella 0.4, tibia 1.2, metatarsus 0.6, tarsus 0.4. Prosoma oval, almost as wide as long. The cephalic part of the prosoma is elevated and sides parallel. Posterior half rounded. Prosoma laterally with dark markings ( Figure 38A, B ). All eyes surrounded by dark rings. Opisthosoma oval, longer than wide, with a clear constriction in the centre of the anterior half ( Figure 38A, B ). Dorsally, sclerotized, ventrally softer. Chelicerae constricted at the base, thickest at the centre ( Figure 38A, B ). Male palps disk-shaped, with the embolus positioned on the borders of the tegulum ( Figure 38C, D ). Chelicerae dentition not examined. Leg formula 4132. Leg spination not examined. Females have not been found from Sri Lanka.

Distribution

Libya to India. New record for Sri Lanka.

Material examined

Sri Lanka: Kimbissa : 1 male, 0.8 km west of Sigiriya Jungle, 28 June–4 July 1978, Coll. K.V. Krombein, P.B. Karunaratne, J. Wijesinghe, V. Kulasekara, USNM .

List of comparative material examined

Figures

Figure 38. Myrmarachne aff. tristis (Simon, 1882). (A,B) Photographs of male from Kimbissa; (C,D) left male palp. (A) dorsal view; (B) lateral view; (C) ventral view; (D) retrolateral view. Scale bars = 0.2 mm.