Vicirionessa equestris (Simon, 1903) Wesołowska & Russell-Smith, 2022

Wesołowska, Wanda & Russell-Smith, Anthony, 2022, Jumping spiders from Ivory Coast collected by J. - C. Ledoux (Araneae, Salticidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 841 (1), pp. 1-143 : 130-133

Vicirionessa equestris (Simon, 1903) gen. et comb. nov.

Figs 77–78

Viciria equestris Simon, 1903c: 723 .

Viciria equestris pallida Berland & Millot, 1941: 381 . Syn. nov.

Viciria monodi Berland & Millot, 1941: 384 , fig. 82. Syn. nov.

Viciria equestris – Berland & Millot 1941: 379, figs 77b–e, 78.

Material examined

IVORY COAST • 1 ♂; Lamto ; 26 Aug. 1975; “savane non-brulée, sur branches”; MNHN • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; 4 Sep. 1975; MNHN • 1 ♂; same collection data as for preceding; 26 Aug. 1974; “savane incluse dans le forêt du plateau, sur branches”; MNHN • 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀; same collection data as for preceding; 4 Sep. 1975; “savane non-brulée, près de la station, sur branches”; MNHN • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding, Grand Nord ; 22 Aug. 1974; “lisière, forêt du plateau”; MNHN • 1 ♂; same collection data as for preceding, Bandama Forest ; 5 Oct. 1975; “sur branches basses”; MNHN .

Redescription

Male

MEASUREMENTS. Cephalothorax length 3.2, width 2.4, height 1.5. Eye field length 1.4, anterior width 1.9, posterior width 1.7. Abdomen length 3.7, width 1.6. General appearance as in Fig. 77A , slender spider.

CARAPACE. Pear-shaped, dark brown, darker at margins, eye field blackish. Anterior eyes encircled by white scales, many white hairs on anterior part of eye field, such hairs form light semicircular band on thoracic part. Clypeus low, dark brown. Chelicerae brown, unidentate, with small teeth. Labium and endites dark brown with thin white line along their tips. Sternum blackish.

ABDOMEN. Elongated, narrow, dark brown with traces of light median band posteriorly, clothed in faint transparent hairs, venter dark with two lines of light dots. Spinnerets brown.

LEGS. Long, coxae and trochanters dark yellow, femora, patellae and tibiae almost black, metatarsi and tarsi yellow.

PEDIPALPS. As in Figs 77B–C , 78A–B , tibial apophysis wide, with a small tooth at its base, embolus thin, bulb with an enlargement at the origin of the embolus.

Female

MEASUREMENTS. Cephalothorax length 3.3, width 2.2, height 1.5. Eye field length 1.8, anterior width 2.0, posterior width 1.8. Abdomen length 4.2, width 2.0. General appearance as in Fig. 77D . Shape of body as in male but colouration light.

CARAPACE. Yellow to brownish at margins, eyes with black rings. Dense white hairs on eye field, anterior eyes encircled by white scales. Fovea sulciform.

ABDOMNE. Yellowish, laterally with silver spots (translucent guanine crystals). Some brown bristles on abdomen.

LEGS. Yellow, their hairs light, spines brown.

EPIGYNE. With two large oval depressions and wide pocket at epigastric furrow ( Figs 77E , 78C ). Internal structure as in Fig. 78D , seminal ducts short and broad, spermathecae two-chambered.

Synonymization

Both species were originally described from single sexes only, viz. Viciria equestris (♂) and Viciria monodi (♀). The three studied samples from Ivory Coast contained males and females together. Thus, both species names are to be synonymized. Berland & Millot (1941) described the light coloured male of V. equestris from Ivory Coast as a new subspecies V. equestris pallida . As the colour intensity is highly variable, and the authors did not mention any other differences, we synonymize the name with Vicirionessa equestris .

Biology

All but one specimen at Lamto were recorded from branches on trees in savannah habitats.

Distribution

Known from Ivory Coast and Gabon.

Figures

Fig. 77. Vicirionessa equestris (Simon, 1903) gen. et comb. nov., ♂♀ (MNHN). A. Habitus of male, dorsal view. B. Palpal organ, ventral view. C. Palpal organ, ventrolateral view. D. Habitus of female, dorsal view. E. Epigyne.

Fig. 78. Vicirionessa equestris (Simon, 1903) gen. et comb. nov., ♂♀ (MNHN). A. Palpal organ, ventral view. B. Palpal organ, lateral view. C. Epigyne. D. Internal structure of epigyne.