Meleon russata (Simon, 1900)

Azarkina, Galina N. & Logunov, Dmitri V., 2010, New data on the jumping spiders of the subfamily Spartaeinae (Araneae: Salticidae) from Africa, African Invertebrates 51 (1), pp. 163-182 : 177-180

Meleon russata (Simon, 1900)

Figs 26, 27, 57–69

Portia russata: Simon 1900: 381 .

Meleon russata (Simon) : Wanless 1978: 97–99, figs 6 A–D.

Description:

Male.

Measurements: Carapace: length 2.40, width 2.10, height at PLE 1.90. Ocular area: length 1.20, width anteriorly 1.60, width posteriorly 1.55. Diameter of AME: 1.20.

Abdomen: length 3.25, width 1.65. Clypeal height: 0.25. Cheliceral length: 0.55. Length of leg segments: I 2.50 + 0.90 + 2.05 + 2.15 + 0.90; II 2.00+ 0.90 + 1.40 + 1.65 + 0.70; III 1.65 + 0.75 + 1.20 + 2.55 + 0.80; IV 2.10 + 0.85 + 1.70 + 2.50 + 0.85.

Leg spination: I Fm d, pr and rt 0-1 - 1 - 1, Pt pr and rt 1, Tb d pr and rt 1 - 1 v 2 - 2 -0, Mt pr and rt 1 - 1 - 1, v 2 - 2 ap; II Fm d pr and rt 0-1 - 1 - 1, Pt pr and rt 1, Tb d 1 - 1 - 1 pr and rt 1 - 1 v 2 - 2 -0, Mt d 0-1 -0 pr 1 - 1 rt 1 - 1 - 1, v 2 - 2 ap; III Fm d, pr and rt 0-1 - 1 - 1, Pt pr and rt 1, Tb d pr and rt 1 - 1 v 1 - 1-2 ap, Mt d 0-1 -0 pr and rt 1 - 1-2 ap, v 2 - 0-2 ap; IV Fm d pr and rt 0- 1 - 1 - 1, Pt pr and rt 1, Tb d pr and rt 1 - 1 v 2 - 1-2 ap, Mt pr and rt 1 - 1-2 ap v 1 - 1 -0- 0-2 ap. Colouration ( Figs 27, 63): Carapace dark brown, with pale yellow ocular area and black around eyes. Sternum dark brown. Clypeus dark brown, but pale white in centre. Cheeks under ALEs yellow-white. Chelicerae dark brown. Abdomen: dorsum brownish grey, with medial grey-brown stripe; sides and venter grey-brown. All legs brown. Femora and tibiae I and II with fringes of dense and long black hairs ventrally (fringes much shorter on legs II) ( Fig. 62). Spinnerets grey-brown. Book-lungs grey. Palps dark brown, covered with white hairs. Palpal structure as in Figs 57–60.

Female.

Measurements: Carapace: length 2.80, width 2.45, height at PLE 2.05. Ocular area: length 1.30, width anteriorly 1.80, width posteriorly 1.75. Diameter of AME 0.60. Abdomen: length 3.90, width 2.25. Clypeal height: 0.30. Cheliceral length: 1.40. Length of leg segments: I 2.50 + 1.10 + 1.80 + 1.80 + 0.90; II 2.10 +1.00+ 1.50 + 1.55 + 0.75; III 1.80 +1.00+ 1.35 + 1.70 + 0.70; IV 2.30 + 0.90 + 1.80 + 2.70 + 0.85.

Leg spination: I Fm d 1 - 1-3 pr and rt 0-1 - 1, Pt pr and rt 1, Tb d, pr and rt 1 - 1 v 2 - 2, Mt pr and rt 1 - 1 - 1, v 2 - 0-2 ap; II Fm d 1 - 1-3 pr and rt 1 - 1 - 1, Pt pr and rt 1, Tb d pr and rt 1 - 1 v 2 - 2, Mt pr and rt 1 - 1-2 ap, v 2 - 0-2 ap; III Fm d 1 - 1-3 pr and rt 1 - 1 - 1, Pt pr and rt 1, Tb d pr and rt 1 - 1 v 2 - 2 - 2 ap, Mt d 0-1 -0 pr and rt 1 - 1-2 ap, v 2 - 0-2 ap; IV Fm d 0-1 - 1-3 pr 0-1 - 1 -0 rt 0- 0-1 -0, Pt pr and rt 1, Tb d pr and rt 1 - 1 v 2 - 2 - 2 ap, Mt d 0-1 -0 pr 1 - 1-2 ap rt 1 - 0-2 ap v 2 - 0-2 ap.

Colouration ( Figs 26, 69): Carapace brown, with pale yellow ocular area and black around eyes. Sternum brown. Clypeus and cheeks brown, with short white hairs. Cheeks under ALEs yellow-white. Chelicerae brown. Abdomen: dorsum grey-yellow, with median grey-brown stripe; sides and venter grey-brown. Book-lungs yellow-grey; spinnerets greyyellow.All legs yellow-brown, but Fm I and II brown, and Fm II pro- and retrolaterally with yellow patches. Fm I with white hairs. Tb I brown, with fringes of dense and long black hairs ventrally (fringes much shorter on legs II, white in their medial part) ( Fig. 26). Palps white-yellow, covered with white hairs. Epigyne and spermathecae as in Figs 64–66.

Material examined: MADAGASCAR: 1 ♀ ( MRAC, 206672 ), Tamatave [= Toamasina], Foulpointe [= Mahavelona ], ca 19 ° 36 'S: 48 ° 13 'E, forest d’Analalava, xi. 1995, A. Pauly ; 1 ♀ ( MRAC, 207233 ), same locality, xi. 1995, A. Pauly ; 1 ♂ ( MRAC, 200.111 ), same locality, sieved litter, 11.xii. 1993, A. Pauly .

Comments: The finding of the male of M. russata ( Figs 27, 57– 63), so long after the ♀ holotype, allows us to comment on the species’ taxonomic assignment. The palp conformation of M. russata , particularly the shape and position of the embolus and the sclerotized lobe M 2 (sensu Wanless 1984 a, fig. 27 G), is almost identical to that of Veissella milloti (Logunov & Azarkina 2008, figs 107–111). Both species differ from each other in details of mutual arrangement and size of the embolus and the sclerite M 2, as well as in the shape of tibial apophysis (cf. Figs 57–59). Yet, V. milloti was only provisionally placed in the genus Veissella (Logunov & Azarkina 2008: 113) , as the species has no process on the palpal femur and patella, the key diagnostic character of Veissella (see Wanless 1984 a).

There is no doubt that both M. russata , known from Madagascar, and V. milloti , known from the Comoros, belong to the same genus, but whether it should be Meleon , Veissella or a separate genus remains to be further studied. On the one hand, the female of M. russata does not possess the median epigynal guide, another key character of Veissella (see Wanless 1984 a, fig. 27 E). Yet, as was stressed by Wijesinghe (1994: 59), M. russata differs from the true Meleon species in the profile of its carapace and the very short copulatory ducts. Thus, it is very likely that M. russata and V. milloti should be placed in a genus of its own, separated both from true Meleon (sensu Wijesinghe 1994) and from Veissella .