Popcornella, Zhang, Jun-Xia & Maddison, Wayne P., 2012

Zhang, Jun-Xia & Maddison, Wayne P., 2012, New euophryine jumping spiders from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico (Araneae: Salticidae: Euophryinae), Zootaxa 3476, pp. 1-54 : 39-40

Genus Popcornella new genus

Type species: Popcornella spiniformis Zhang & Maddison , sp. nov.

Etymology. The generic name is derived from the English “popcorn”, inspired by the nature of the spiders to jump away quickly in apparently random directions when disturbed; feminine in gender.

Diagnosis. Small leaf-litter dwelling spiders. They are usually brown or dark brown in color. Chelicera has two promarginal teeth and one retromarginal tooth. First tibia has three pairs of ventral macrosetae; first metatarsus has two pairs. Embolus of the male palp is short and uncoiled. Epigynum has no distinct window structure, which is similar to Anasaitis Bryant, 1950 , another leaf-litter associated genus mainly from the Caribbean. However, Popcornella differs from Anasaitis in lacking iridescent scales on the carapace and abdomen, and fringes on male legs; the retrolateral tibial apophysis of male palp is usually short. Popcornella is also distinguishable from Soesilarishius Makhan 2007 (see Ruiz 2011) by the short retrolateral tibial apophysis of the male palp and the usually highly shortened copulatory duct of the female vulva. Unpublished molecular data indicate that Popcornella falls into a clade distinct from both Anasaitis and Soesilarishius .

Figures 195–200. Popcornella furcata sp. nov. 195 male paratype, dorsal view; 196 female paratype, dorsal view; 197 male left palp, ventral view; 198 male left palp, retrolateral view; 199 epigynum, ventral view; 200 cleared epigynum, dorsal view. Scale bars: 195 – 196, 0.5 mm; 197 – 200, 0.1 mm.