Thyenula sp.

Wesołowska, Wanda & Haddad, Charles R., 2014, An overview of the jumping spiders of Lesotho (Araneae: Salticidae), with descriptions of six new species, African Invertebrates 55 (2), pp. 229-229 : 261-262

Thyenula sp.

Figs 73 , 100, 101

Description:

Measurements (♀): Cephalothorax: length 1.9, width 1.3, height 0.9. Eye field: length 0.8, anterior and posterior width 1.2. Abdomen: length 2.5, width 1.6.

Female.

General appearance as in Fig. 73 . Carapace brown, with slightly darker eye field; thoracic part slightly darker medially than laterally; some brown bristles near anterior eyes, carapace otherwise smooth and almost entirely without hairs. Clypeus low, dark. Sternum and mouthparts brown, only inner margins of endites pale. Abdomen oval, brownish-grey; abdominal pattern is mosaic of small dark patches; abdominal dorsum with some brown hairs, among them scarce long bristles. Venter dark grey, with four lines composed of light dots. Spinnerets grey. Legs brown; femora of leg I with 1-1-2 spines dorsally, tibiae with three and metatarsi with two pairs of long ventral spines. Epigyne as in Fig. 100 ; internal structure as in Fig. 101 ; accessory glands lead into seminal ducts; spermathecae one-chambered, bean-shaped.

Material examined: Maseru district: 1♀ Mohale Dam , 29°25'S 28°06'E, 2060 m, 13.xii.2003 ( NCA 2013 / 3111) .

Distribution: Only known from a single locality in central Lesotho ( Fig. 102 ).

Remarks: Only a single female was collected, which is similar to T. fidelis Wesołowska & Haddad, 2009 from the eastern part of South Africa. It differs slightly in the smaller size, darker coloration, and lack of white hairs on the clypeus and “cheeks”. Additional specimens should be collected to determine whether the Lesotho specimens are T. fidelis or whether they represent a new species.

Figures

Figs 69–73. Digital microscope photographs of the dorsolateral (69) and dorsal (70–73) habitus of jumping spiders from Lesotho: (69, 70) Massagris mohale sp. n., ♂ (69) and ♀ (70); (71) Pellenes geniculatus, ♀; (72) Thyenula armata, ♀; (73) Thyenula sp., ♀.

Figs 98–101. Thyenula armata and Thyenula sp., ♀. (98, 100) epigynes, ventral view; (99, 101) internal structure of epigynes.

Fig. 102. Distribution of Salticidae from Lesotho.