''Phintella caledoniensis'' 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 New Caledonia. First described in 2009 by Barbara Patoleta, it was named after the island where it was found. The spider is small and has a brown

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 ...

with patches, the female being generally darker, and a grey or grey-brown

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 ...

. The female has distinctive bean-shaped

spermatheca The spermatheca (pronounced : spermathecae ), also called ''receptaculum seminis'' (: ''receptacula seminis''), is an organ of the female reproductive tract in insects, e.g. ants, bees, some molluscs, Oligochaeta worms and certain other in ...

and the male a long and thin

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 ...

Taxonomy

''Phintella lajuma'' was first identified in 2009 by Barbara Patoleta. The

is named after the island where it was first found. The

''Phintella'' was 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 is medium-sized, with shape that is typical of the genus, with a broad

with flat sides that is wider than the

. It is most similar to '' Phintella volupe'', found in Sri Lanka, but can be distinguished by its copulatory organs. The female of the species has a dark brown cephalothorax, with white patches. It has a grey oval abdomen and

spinnerets 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 ...

that are also grey. 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 ...

and

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 ...

are brown. The spider is small, with a abdomen that is long and wide while the cephalothorax is in length and across. The female has a distinctive bean-shaped

e. The male is slightly lighter in colour and larger than the female, and the male's abdomen and spinnerets are grey-brown. The abdomen is long and wide and the cephalothorax long and wide. 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 light brown and the

is long and thin.

Distribution and habitat

''Phintella caledonia'' has only been discovered in the

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

around

Mont Panié Mont Panié is a mountain on the island of Grande Terre in New Caledonia, a special collectivity of France located in the south-west Pacific Ocean. At , it is the island's highest point. Mont Panié is situated in the Chaîne Centrale mountain ...

on New Caldonia.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3479483 Spiders of New Caledonia Salticidae Spiders described in 2009 Taxa named by Barbara Maria Patoleta