Portia russata : Simon 1900 : 381 Meleon russata (Simon) New data on the jumping spiders of the subfamily Spartaeinae (Araneae: Salticidae) from Africa Azarkina, Galina N. Logunov, Dmitri V. African Invertebrates 2010 51 1 163 182 Simon, 1900 Simon 1900 [452,795,1400,1427] Arachnida Salticidae Meleon GBIF,CoL Animalia Araneae 14 177 Arthropoda species russata   Figs 26, 27,  57–69    Portia russata: Simon 1900: 381.   Meleon russata(Simon): Wanless 1978: 97–99, figs 6A–D.  Description:  Male.  Measurements: Carapace: length 2.40, width 2.10, height at PLE 1.90. Ocular area: length 1.20, width anteriorly 1.60, width posteriorly 1.55. Diameter of AME: 1.20. Abdomen: length 3.25, width 1.65. Clypeal height: 0.25. Cheliceral length: 0.55. Length of leg segments: I 2.50+ 0.90+ 2.05+ 2.15+ 0.90; II 2.00+ 0.90+ 1.40+ 1.65+ 0.70; III 1.65+ 0.75+ 1.20+ 2.55+ 0.80; IV 2.10+ 0.85+ 1.70+ 2.50+ 0.85.  Leg spination: I Fm d, pr and rt 0-1- 1- 1, Pt pr and rt 1, Tb d pr and rt 1- 1 v 2- 2-0, Mt pr and rt 1- 1- 1, v 2- 2ap; II Fm d pr and rt 0-1- 1- 1, Pt pr and rt 1, Tb d 1- 1- 1pr and rt 1- 1 v 2- 2-0, Mt d 0-1-0 pr 1- 1rt 1- 1- 1, v 2- 2ap; III Fm d, pr and rt 0-1- 1- 1, Pt pr and rt 1, Tb d pr and rt 1- 1 v 1- 1-2ap, Mt d 0-1-0 pr and rt 1- 1-2ap, v 2- 0-2ap; IV Fm d pr and rt 0- 1- 1- 1, Pt pr and rt 1, Tb d pr and rt 1- 1 v 2- 1-2ap, Mt pr and rt 1- 1-2ap v 1- 1-0- 0-2ap. Colouration( Figs 27, 63): Carapace dark brown, with pale yellow ocular area and black around eyes. Sternum dark brown. Clypeus dark brown, but pale white in centre. Cheeks under ALEs yellow-white. Chelicerae dark brown. Abdomen: dorsum brownish grey, with medial grey-brown stripe; sides and venter grey-brown. All legs brown. Femora and tibiae I and II with fringes of dense and long black hairs ventrally (fringes much shorter on legs II) ( Fig. 62). Spinnerets grey-brown. Book-lungs grey. Palps dark brown, covered with white hairs. Palpal structure as in Figs 57–60.  Figs 57–63.  Meleon russata(Simon, 1900)from Madagascar (Tamatave), male: (57) male palp, ventral view; (58) ditto, dorsal view; (59) tibial apophyses, dorsolateral view; (60) embolar divisio, lateral view; (61) chelicera, ventral view; (62) legs I and II, lateral view; (63) general appearance, dorsal view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm in Figs 57–62; 1 mm in Fig. 63.  Female.  Measurements: Carapace: length 2.80, width 2.45, height at PLE 2.05. Ocular area: length 1.30, width anteriorly 1.80, width posteriorly 1.75. Diameter of AME 0.60. Abdomen: length 3.90, width 2.25. Clypeal height: 0.30. Cheliceral length: 1.40. Length of leg segments: I 2.50+ 1.10+ 1.80+ 1.80+ 0.90; II 2.10+1.00+ 1.50+ 1.55+ 0.75; III 1.80+1.00+ 1.35+ 1.70+ 0.70; IV 2.30+ 0.90+ 1.80+ 2.70+ 0.85.  Leg spination: I Fm d 1- 1-3pr and rt 0-1- 1, Pt pr and rt 1, Tb d, pr and rt 1- 1 v 2- 2, Mt pr and rt 1- 1- 1, v 2- 0-2ap; II Fm d 1- 1-3pr and rt 1- 1- 1, Pt pr and rt 1, Tb d pr and rt 1- 1 v 2- 2, Mt pr and rt 1- 1-2ap, v 2- 0-2ap; III Fm d 1- 1-3pr and rt 1- 1- 1, Pt pr and rt 1, Tb d pr and rt 1- 1 v 2- 2- 2ap, Mt d 0-1-0 pr and rt 1- 1-2ap, v 2- 0-2ap; IV Fm d 0-1- 1-3pr 0-1- 1-0 rt 0- 0-1-0, Pt pr and rt 1, Tb d pr and rt 1- 1 v 2- 2- 2ap, Mt d 0-1-0 pr 1- 1-2ap rt 1- 0-2ap v 2- 0-2ap.  Colouration( Figs 26, 69): Carapace brown, with pale yellow ocular area and black around eyes. Sternum brown. Clypeus and cheeks brown, with short white hairs. Cheeks under ALEs yellow-white. Chelicerae brown. Abdomen: dorsum grey-yellow, with median grey-brown stripe; sides and venter grey-brown. Book-lungs yellow-grey; spinnerets greyyellow.All legs yellow-brown, but Fm I and II brown, and Fm II pro- and retrolaterally with yellow patches. Fm I with white hairs. Tb I brown, with fringes of dense and long black hairs ventrally (fringes much shorter on legs II, white in their medial part) ( Fig. 26). Palps white-yellow, covered with white hairs. Epigyne and spermathecae as in Figs 64–66.  Material examined:  MADAGASCAR:  1♀( MRAC,  206672), Tamatave [= Toamasina], Foulpointe [= Mahavelona], ca  19° 36'S:  48° 13'E, forest d’Analalava,  xi. 1995, A. Pauly;   1♀( MRAC,  207233), same locality,  xi. 1995, A. Pauly;   1♂( MRAC,  200.111), same locality, sieved litter,   11.xii. 1993, A. Pauly.  Comments: The finding of the male of  M. russata( Figs 27, 57– 63), so long after the ♀ holotype, allows us to comment on the species’ taxonomic assignment. The palp conformation of  M. russata, particularly the shape and position of the embolus and the sclerotized lobe M 2( sensuWanless 1984 a, fig. 27 G), is almost identical to that of  Veissella milloti(Logunov & Azarkina 2008, figs 107–111). Both species differ from each other in details of mutual arrangement and size of the embolus and the sclerite M 2, as well as in the shape of tibial apophysis (cf. Figs 57–59). Yet,  V. millotiwas only provisionally placed in the genus  Veissella(Logunov & Azarkina 2008: 113), as the species has no process on the palpal femur and patella, the key diagnostic character of  Veissella(see Wanless 1984 a). There is no doubt that both  M. russata, known from Madagascar, and  V. milloti, known from the Comoros, belong to the same genus, but whether it should be  Meleon,  Veissellaor a separate genus remains to be further studied. On the one hand, the female of  M. russatadoes not possess the median epigynal guide, another key character of  Veissella(see Wanless 1984 a, fig. 27 E). Yet, as was stressed by Wijesinghe ( 1994: 59),  M. russatadiffers from the true  Meleonspecies in the profile of its carapace and the very short copulatory ducts. Thus, it is very likely that  M. russataand  V. millotishould be placed in a genus of its own, separated both from true  Meleon( sensuWijesinghe 1994)and from  Veissella. 1224744436 1995-11 MRAC A. Pauly Madagascar -19.6 Tamatave [= Toamasina], Foulpointe [= Mahavelona 1271 48.216667 17 180 206672 1 1 1224744440 1995-11 MRAC A. Pauly Madagascar -19.6 Tamatave [= Toamasina], Foulpointe [= Mahavelona 1271 48.216667 17 180 207233 1 1 1224744427 [351,1002,253,275] 1993-12-11 sieved litter MRAC A. Pauly Madagascar -19.6 Tamatave [= Toamasina], Foulpointe [= Mahavelona 1271 48.216667 17 180 200.111 1 1