Myrmarachne MacLeay, 1839

Yamasaki, Takeshi & Ahmad, Abdul Hamid, 2013, Taxonomic study of the genus Myrmarachne of Borneo (Araneae: Salticidae), Zootaxa 3710 (6), pp. 501-556 : 502-503

Genus Myrmarachne MacLeay, 1839

Entomocephalus Holl, 1829: 178. Type species: Entomocephalus formicoides Holl, 1829. [Synonymised and suppressed by Dunlop & Penney 2009.]

Myrmarachne MacLeay, 1839: 10 . Type species: Myrmarachne melanocephala MacLeay, 1839 . Simon, 1901: 504. Roewer, 1965: 33. Galiano, 1969: 107. Tikader, 1973: 59. Wanless, 1978a: 18. Żabka, 1985: 242. Yaginuma, 1986: 242. Cho & Kim, 2002: 109. Ono, Ikeda & Kono, 2009: 565. Prószyński & Deeleman-Reinhold, 2010: 174.

Emertonius Peckham & Peckham, 1892: 54 . Type species: Emertonius exasperans Peckham & Peckham , monotypy. [Synonymised by Wanless, 1978b.] Prószyński & Deeleman-Reinhold, 2010: 162.

Hermosa Peckham & Peckham, 1892: 53 . Type species: Hermosa volatilis Peckham & Pekham , monotypy. [Synonymised by Simon, 1901: 504.]

Iola Peckham & Peckham, 1892: 75 . Type species: Iola cowanii Peckham & Peckham , by monotypy. [Synonymised by Simon, 1901: 504.]

Bizone Simon, 1903: 1050 . Type species: Bizone longiventris . Junior homonym of Bizone Walker, 1854 . [Synonymised by Strand, 1929.]

Bizonella Strand, 1929: 15 . Replacement name for Bizone Simon. [Synonymised by Wanless, 1978a: 18.]

Diagnosis. In male palp, embolus forming two coils, tapering apically; tegulum round or oval with seminal reservoir; retrolateral apical corner of palpal tibia bearing sinuous or strongly curved apophysis. In epigyne, copulatory atria oval or elongate-oval; spermathecae elongate-oval or spherical; sclerotised copulatory ducts complexly twisted, but sometimes without twist; median pocket or pair of lateral pockets usually present in front of epigastric furrow.

Description. Ant-mimicking jumping spiders. Body slender. Coloration variable from orange to black. Eyes, as in most salticids, generally surrounded by black pigment. Carapace more or less constricted behind posterior lateral eye, and thus divided into cephalic and thoracic parts; lateral markings formed by white hairs present on carapace in some species. Cephalic part almost always higher than thoracic part. Chelicera usually bearing numerous teeth on its venter, and male chelicera remarkably longer than female chelicera. Sternum long, slender. Pedicel in dorsal and lateral views easily recognisable, and sometimes very long. Legs very slender, normally tibia I cream white distally. Abdomen oval to elongate-oval, sometimes with constriction; two dorsal scuta (sometimes fused together) present in males, but usually absent in females.

Male palp. With palp in dorsal and ventral views cymbium oval, usually with one apical spine (occasionally two or none). Tegulum round or oval with seminal reservoir. Embolus forming two coils, and tapering toward its apex. Retrolateral tibial apophysis strongly or weakly curved. Flange of retrolateral tibial apophysis developed as process, but in some species much reduced.

Epigyne. Copulatory atria containing openings round or elongate-oval. Membranous portion of copulatory ducts usually invisible; sclerotised portion of the ducts connecting the membranous portion with spermathecae; sclerotised copulatory ducts twisted more or less complexly, or sometimes without twist. Spermathecae elongateoval to spherical. Median pocket or pair of lateral pockets present in front of epigastric furrow.

Remarks. The genus Myrmarachne belongs to the subfamily Myrmarachninae (Simon 1901; Petrunkevitch 1928; Davies & Żabka 1989; Edwards & Benjamin 2009). Although some members of the subfamily constitute a relatively distinct group based on molecular analysis (Maddison et al. 2008), the delimination of the subfamily is not very well defined. The definition of the genus Myrmarachne is also under debate (Wanless 1978b; Prószyński & Deeleman-Reinhold 2010).

Wanless (1978a) defined six species groups based on the Ethiopian species: the electrica, formicaria, lesserti, nubilis, tristis and volatilis groups. Afterward, Edwards & Benjamin (2009) newly recognised an additional four species groups, two based on Southeast Asian species (the grossa and plataleoides groups), South Africa (laurentina group), and the Neotropics (parallela group). These species groups are strongly based on the structures of the male palp and female epigyne. We do not establish or define species groups for the studied species, as we think it would be premature, since the Myrmarachne fauna of Southeast Asia is not yet sufficiently known.