Psenuc dentatus ( Wesołowska & Haddad, 2013 ) Haddad & Wiśniewski & Wesołowska, 2024

Haddad, Charles Richard, Wiśniewski, Konrad & Wesołowska, Wanda, 2024, The jumping spiders of Mozambique (Araneae: Salticidae), Zootaxa 5560 (1), pp. 1-92 : 58

Psenuc dentatus ( Wesołowska & Haddad, 2013) comb. nov.

Fig. 41

Pseudicius dentatus Wesołowska & Haddad, 2013: 214 , figs 119–124 (♂ ♀).

Material examined. MOZAMBIQUE: Inhambane: Bartholomew Diaz Point , 21°15.585’S, 35°06.851’E, mangroves, beating shrubs, 9.XII.2007, leg. R. Lyle & R. Fourie, 2♀ ( NCA 2020 /128) .

Description. For a description of both sexes see Wesołowska & Haddad (2013). General appearance of female and epigyne in Fig. 41A–D .

Distribution. Previously known from northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, this is the new record in the fauna of Mozambique.

Remarks. Psenuc Prószyński, 2016 was established to include two species each of Afraflacilla Berland & Millot, 1941 and Icius Simon, 1876 and seven of Pseudicius Simon, 1885 ( Prószyński 2016; World Spider Catalog 2024). However, this work was incomplete and numerous species from southern Africa described in Pseudicius have remained there, despite their clear affiliations to Afraflacilla or Psenuc . Pseudicius dentatus Wesołowska & Haddad, 2013 shares with Psenuc vesporum (Prószyński, 1992) (type species) and other Psenuc the female epigyne with mesal anterior copulatory openings and copulatory ducts running posteriorly along the midline of the epigyne, diverging posteriorly to the spermathecae. Males have a strongly developed field of denticles on the inner margin of the retrolateral tibial apophysis and an embolus originating proximally on the bulb and having two almost 90-degree bends, proximally and distally, along its course. As such, we propose the transfer of P. dentatus to Psenuc here.

Figures

FIGURE 41. Psenuc dentatus (Wesołowska & Haddad, 2013), female. A. General appearance, dorsal view; B, C. Epigyne; D. Internal structure of epigyne.