Zabka, Wang & Li & Pham, 2023

Wang, Cheng, Li, Shuqiang & Pham, Dinh-Sac, 2023, Thirteen species of jumping spiders from northern Vietnam (Araneae, Salticidae), ZooKeys 1148, pp. 119-165 : 119

Genus Zabka gen. nov.

Type species.

Euophrys cooki Żabka, 1985 from Vietnam.

Etymology.

The genus is named after Prof. Marek Żabka (Siedlce, Poland), a leading arachnologist in jumping spiders, who contributed significantly to the taxonomy of jumping spiders from Vietnam. The gender is masculine.

Diagnosis.

Zabka gen. nov. resembles that of Euochin Prószyński, 2018 in having the indistinguishable male palp, and the big, round, paired atria, but it can be distinguished by the following: (1) the male chelicerae have one retromarginal fissidental tooth with one cusp, or a single tooth, whereas have one fissidental tooth with multiple cusps in the generotype and its congeners of Euochin (see the description of Zha et al. 2014); (2) the bulb has small, antero-marginal lobe, whereas absent in Euochin ( Zha et al. 2014: figs 5, 6, 8, 9, 16, 17, 19, 20; Metzner 2023); (3) the spermathecae are anterior located, whereas posteriorly located in Euochin ( Zha et al. 2014: figs 4, 11, 15, 22; Metzner 2023); (4) the copulatory openings are located medially or posteriorly on atria, whereas anteriorly located, or beneath the anterior portions of atrial ridges in Euochin ( Zha et al. 2014: figs 3 10, 14, 21; Metzner 2023); (5) the copulatory ducts are much longer,> 3 × spermathecal diameter, whereas usually less than the spermathecal diameter in Euochin ( Zha et al. 2014: figs 4, 11, 15, 22; Metzner 2023). The genus also somewhat resembles Euophrys C. L. Koch, 1834 in male palpal structure, but it can be easily distinguished by the broad RTA (in retrolateral view), whereas RTA is seta-like in Euophrys (see the description of Prószyński et al. 2018).

Description.

Small-sized spiders. Sexual dimorphism indistinct. Carapace almost square, red-brown to dark brown, setose, with elevated cephalic region and sloped thorax; fovea dark, longitudinal, bar-shaped. Chelicerae with two promarginal teeth and one retromarginal fissidental tooth or single tooth. Endites broadened distally. Labium almost linguiform. Sternum almost oval, with straight anterior margin. Legs yellow to dark brown. Abdomen oval or elongate-oval, dorsum with alternate pale yellow and dark brown transverse bands or with several chevrons posteriorly; venter yellow-brown to dark brown. Palp: tibia short, with ventral bump, and straight retrolateral apophysis almost equal to its length; cymbium longer than wide; bulb elongated, with posteriorly extending posterior lobe and small, antero-marginal lobe; embolus originates from the anterior portion of bulb, forming a disc at base, coiled in almost a circle. Epigyne: with big, round, paired atria; copulatory openings medially or posteriorly located on atria; copulatory ducts long, coils almost C-shaped, with proximal accessory glands or not; spermathecae almost round, spherical, anteriorly located; fertilization ducts originate from the anterior margins of spermathecae, transversely extending.

Composition.

The genus belongs to the tribe Euophryini , only including the generotype and Z. xuyei (Lin & Li, 2020), comb. nov.

Distribution.

Vietnam (Nghe An, Ninh Binh), China (Yunnan).

Comments.

According to the morphological features, it can be easily recognized that Euophrys xuyei is not a true Euophrys . Herein it is being transferred into Zabka gen. nov. based on the similarity of copulatory organs with the generotype. However, it is also different from the latter in habitus markings, indicating that the generic position of this species may need further confirmation.