New data on the jumping spiders of the subfamily Spartaeinae (Araneae: Salticidae) from Africa
Author
Azarkina, Galina N.
Author
Logunov, Dmitri V.
text
African Invertebrates
2010
51
1
163
182
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.5733/afin.051.0103
Meleon
sp.
Figs
70–72
Material examined:
UGANDA
:
1
♀
(
ZFMK
,
Ar
1444
),
Budongo Forest
,
1
°
45
'N
:
31
°
25
'E
, swamp forest,
Teclea nobilis
, wet season,
11–20
.vii.
1995
,
T. Wagner
.
Comments: This ♀ cannot be reliably identified or described as a new species. On the basis of its copulatory organs (
Fig.
70
), it is most close to, but clearly distinct from,
M. solitaria
(
sensu
Wijesinghe
1994
)
. It can be easily distinguished from the ♀
holotype
of
P. solitaria
by the ovoid shape of the spermathecae (cf.
Figs 71, 72
and figs
4–6 in
Wijesinghe
1994
). However, the current conception of the latter species is based on the assumption that the ♀
holotype
of
Portia solitaria
from Zaire and the ♂
holotype
of
Portia falsifera
Wanless,
1978
from Uganda belong to the same species (see Wijesinghe
1994
:
60
). On the contrary, it is very likely that our ♀ from Uganda and the ♂
holotype
of
P. falsifera
belong to the same taxon. If so, the latter name should be revalidated and removed from the synonymy with
M. solitaria
. Thus, the studied ♀ belongs either to
M. falsifera
or to a new species. The matter can be finally decided when a sample of
M. falsifera
with both sexes has been collected.