''Phintella africana'' 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 ...

Phintella ''Phintella'' is a genus of Salticidae, jumping spiders that was first described by W. Bösenberg & Embrik Strand in 1906. Species it contains fifty-nine species and one subspecies, found in Oceania, Asia, Europe, and Africa: *''Phintella abnorm ...

'' that lives in Ethiopia. The female of the species was first described in 2008 by

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 ...

and Beata Tomasiewicz. The spider, which is named after the continent where it was found, is small and brown, with a mottled brown and yellow

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 lives in

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

Taxonomy

''Phintella africana'' is a

that was first identified in 2008 by

and Beata Tomasiewicz. The spider was named after Africa, the continent in which it was first found. It is one of over 500

identified by Wesołowska during her career. It was allocated to the

'', first raised in 1906 by Embrik Strand and W. Bösenberg. The genus name derives from the genus ''Phintia'', which it resembles. The genus ''Phintia'' was itself renamed ''Phintodes'', which was subsequently absorbed into '' Tylogonus''. There are similarities between spiders within genus ''Phintella'' and those in '' Chira'', ''

Chrysilla ''Chrysilla'' is a genus of Salticidae, jumping spiders that was first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1887. Several species formerly placed here were transferred to ''Phintella'', and vice versa. Females are long, and males are long. The genus ...

'', ''

Euophrys ''Euophrys'' is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1834. The small black ''E. omnisuperstes'' lives on Mount Everest at elevations up to 6,700 meters, possibly making it the most elevated animal in the world ...

'', ''

Icius ''Icius'' is a genus of jumping spiders described by Eugène Simon in 1876, belonging to the Order Araneae, Family Salticidae. Distribution ''Icius'' is an almost cosmopolitan genus, widespread in Europe (mainly in Belgium, Croatia, France, Ge ...

'', ''

Jotus ''Jotus'' is a spider genus of the family Salticidae (jumping spiders), native to Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia. There are thought to be many as yet undescribed species in southern Australia. Species , the World Spider Catalog accepted t ...

'' and '' Telamonia''. Genetic analysis confirms that it is related to the genera ''

Helvetia Helvetia () is a national personification of Switzerland, officially , the Swiss Confederation. The allegory is typically pictured in a flowing clothing, with a spear and a shield emblazoned with the Flag of Switzerland, Swiss flag, and commo ...

'' and ''

Menemerus ''Menemerus'' is a genus of Salticidae, jumping spiders that was first described by Eugène Simon, Eugène Louis Simon in 1868. They are long, flattened in shape, and very hairy, usually with brown and grayish hairs. Most species have white edges ...

'' and is classified in 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 ...

Chrysillini Chrysillini is a tribe of jumping spider in the family Salticidae. In Maddison's 2015 revision of the family, the subfamily Heliophaninae was reclassified as a junior synonym of Chrysillini. Genera * '' Afraflacilla'' * '' Augustaea'' * '' ...

Description

The spider was described based on a specimen found by Anthony Russell-Smith between 1982 and 1988. Only the female has so far been described. The species differs from other members of the genus by the fact that the copulatory openings are at the rear edge of the

epigyne The epigyne or epigynum is the external genital structure of female spiders. As the epigyne varies greatly in form in different species, even in closely related ones, it often provides the most distinctive characteristic for recognizing species. ...

. Otherwise, it is typical of the genus. The spider has a brown

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 ...

with black rings around its eyes. The

clypeus The clypeus is one of the sclerites that make up the face of an arthropod. In insects, the clypeus delimits the lower margin of the face, with the labrum articulated along the ventral margin of the clypeus. The mandibles bracket the labrum, but ...

is similarly brown. The

is oval and mottled yellow and brown, and is long. The

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

is smaller, measuring in length. The epigyne is rounded and has a single pocket.

Distribution

The spider has been found in the

Sidamo Province Sidamo Province (Amharic: ሲዳሞ) was a province in the southern part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Irgalem, and after 1978 at Awasa. It was named after an ethnic group native to southern Ethiopia, called the Sidama, who are located ...

of Ethiopia, in

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3445273 Endemic fauna of Ethiopia Salticidae Spiders described in 2008 Spiders of Africa Taxa named by Wanda Wesołowska