''Evarcha brinki'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

jumping spider Jumping spiders are a group of spiders that constitute the family (biology), family Salticidae. , this family contained over 600 species description, described genus, genera and over 6,000 described species, making it the largest family of spide ...

in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

'' Evarcha'' that lives in

Northern Cape The Northern Cape ( ; ; ) is the largest and most sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes ...

, South Africa. The species was first described in 2011 by Charles Haddad and

Wanda Wesołowska Wanda Wesołowska (born 11 August 1950) is a Polish zoologist known for her work with jumping spiders. She has described more species of jumping spider than any contemporary writer, and is second only to Eugène Simon in the history of arachnolo ...

. The spider is small, with a

carapace A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the unde ...

measuring typically long and an

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

long. It is generally yellow, with an orange tinge to the top of the carapace and a darker, nearly black eye field. There are large black spots on the abdomen. While the majority of the legs are yellow, the front pair are brown. It is very different to other African ''Evarcha'' spiders. Its copulatory organs are distinctive, particularly the male's

embolus An embolus (; : emboli; from the Greek ἔμβολος "wedge", "plug") is an unattached mass that travels through the circulatory system, bloodstream and is capable of creating blockages. When an embolus Vascular occlusion, occludes a blood vess ...

, which is short and encircled by a very thin appendage. The female has not been described.

Taxonomy

''Evarcha brinki'' is a

that was first described by Charles Haddad and

in 2011. It was one of over 500

identified by the Polish

arachnologist Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, ticks, and mites. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly ...

Wesołowska during her career, making her one of the most prolific in the field. They allocated it to the

'' Evarcha'', first circumscribed by

Eugène Simon Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects and spiders, but also on birds and plants. He is by far the most prolific spider Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist in history, ...

in 1902. The genus is one of the largest, with members found on four continents. In 1976,

Jerzy Prószyński Jerzy Prószyński (born 1935 in Warsaw) is a Polish arachnologist specializing in systematics of jumping spiders (family Salticidae). He is a graduate of the University of Warsaw, a long-term employee of the Siedlce University of Natural Sc ...

placed the genus was placed in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Pelleninae, along with the genera ''Bianor'' and '' Pellenes''. In

Wayne Maddison Wayne Paul Maddison (born 1958) is a Canadian evolutionary biologist, arachnologist, and biological illustrator. He is Canada Research Chair in Biodiversity and a professor at the departments of zoology and botany at the University of British ...

's 2015 study of spider

phylogenetic classification Phylogenetic nomenclature is a method of nomenclature for taxa in biology that uses phylogenetic definitions for taxon names as explained below. This contrasts with the traditional method, by which taxon names are defined by a ''type'', which can ...

, the genus ''Evarcha'' was moved to the

subtribe Subtribe is a taxonomic category ranking which is below the rank of tribe and above genus. The standard suffix for a subtribe is -ina (in animals) or -inae (in plants). The first use of this word dates back to the late 19th century. An example of ...

Plexippina. This is a member of the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Plexippini, in the subclade Simonida in the

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

Saltafresia. It is closer to the genera ''

Hyllus In Greek mythology, Hyllus (; Ancient Greek: Ὕλλος, ''Hyllos'') or Hyllas (Ὕλλᾱς, ''Hyllas'') was a son of Heracles and Deianira and the husband of Iole. Mythology Heracles, whom Zeus had originally intended to be ruler of Arg ...

'' and ''

Plexippus In Greek mythology, Plexippus or Plexippos (Ancient Greek: Πλήξιππος means "striking") is a name that refers to: * Plexippus, a Pleuron (Aetolia), Pleuronian prince as the son of King Thestius of Pleuron, Aetolia, Pleuron and Eurythemis, ...

''. Analysis of protein-coding genes showed it was particularly related to '' Telamonia''. In the following year, Prószyński added the genus to a group of genera named Evarchines, named after the genus, along with ''

Hasarinella ''Hasarinella'' is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae. It was first described in 2012 by Wanda Wesołowska Wanda Wesołowska (born 11 August 1950) is a Polish zoologist known for her work with jumping spiders. She has described more ...

'' and '' Nigorella'' based on similarities in the spiders' copulatory organs. The specific name is in honor of South African novelist

André Brink André Philippus Brink (29 May 1935 – 6 February 2015) was a South African novelist, essayist and poet. He wrote in both Afrikaans and English and taught English at the University of Cape Town. In the 1960s Brink, Ingrid Jonker, Etienne Lerou ...

Description

''Evarcha brinki'' is a small spider. It has more similarities with ''Evarcha'' species from China, like '' Evacha sichuanensis'' and '' Evarcha orientalis'', than the African species in the genus. The male has a

that is typically long and wide. It is oval, high and sloping. The top is yellowish-orange with a dark patch towards the rear made up of brown hairs. The eye field is darker, nearly black with white hairs forming a shape to the rear. White hairs can also be found on the spider's clypeus, or face, which is yellow. The underside, or

sternum The sternum (: sternums or sterna) or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major bl ...

, is also yellow. The mouthparts are distinctive with brown

chelicerae The chelicerae () are the arthropod mouthparts, mouthparts of the subphylum Chelicerata, an arthropod group that includes arachnids, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. Commonly referred to as "jaws", chelicerae may be shaped as either articulated ...

that have a single tooth; the labium and maxillae are brownish. The male spider's ovoid

is narrower than its carapace, measuring typically in length and having a width of typically . It is pale yellow on top with five large black spots and a scattering of long bristles. The underside is pale with a dark patch that is u-shaped. The spider has yellowish forward and brownish rear

spinneret A spinneret is a silk-spinning organ of a spider or the larva of an insect. Some adult insects also have spinnerets, such as those borne on the forelegs of Embioptera. Spinnerets are usually on the underside of a spider's opisthosoma, and ar ...

s. The front legs are brown while the other legs are yellow. All the legs have brown and white hairs and dark brown spines. The copulatory organs are distinctive. The

pedipalp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the secondary pair of forward appendages among Chelicerata, chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to ...

s are yellow. The palpal femur is yellow. The palpal tibia is short and wide. It has a very short projection called a tibial apophysis that is heavily sclerotized and is split into two stumpy spikes. The embolus is particularly unusual, and helps to distinguish the spider from others in the genus. The short thin embolus emanates from the top of the

palpal bulb The two palpal bulbs – also known as palpal organs and genital bulbs – are the copulatory organs of a male spider. They are borne on the last segment of the pedipalps (the front "limbs" of a spider), giving the spider an appearance often descr ...

, accompanied by a very thin projection that entwines around it, while the bulb itself is rounded with a bulge at the bottom. The female has not been described.

Distribution and habitat

''Evarcha'' spiders live across the world, although those found in North America may be accidental migrants. Although the genus is found across Africa, ''Evarcha brinki'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to South Africa. It has only been found in

. The

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

for the species was found on grass tussocks on the banks of the

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch language, Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibi ...

in 2009 by Haddad. The species has subsequently been found in the

Tswalu Kalahari Reserve The Tswalu Kalahari Reserve is a privately owned game reserve in the Northern Cape, South Africa. It is South Africa's largest private game reserve, covering an area of over 111,000 hectares. History The Tswalu Game Reserve in the Southern Kal ...

. The spider lives and hunts for food both on the ground and on plants.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1893035 Endemic spiders of South Africa Salticidae Spiders described in 2011 Taxa named by Wanda Wesołowska