Tenkana Marathe, Maddison & Caleb, 2024

Marathe, Kiran, Caleb, John T. D., Maddison, Wayne P., Nisha, B. G., Maliye, Chinmay C., Lohit, Y. T. & Kunte, Krushnamegh, 2024, Tenkana, a new genus of jumping spiders (Salticidae, Plexippina) from South Asia, with the new Indian species Tenkana jayamangali, ZooKeys 1215, pp. 91-106 : 91-106

Tenkana Marathe, Maddison & Caleb gen. nov.

Type species.

Hyllus manu Caleb, Christudhas, Laltanpuii & Chitra, 2014 .

Species included.

Tenkana arkavathi ( Caleb, 2022) , comb. nov.; Tenkana jayamangali gen. et sp. nov.; Tenkana manu (Caleb, Christudhas, Laltanpuii & Chitra, 2014) , comb. nov.

Etymology.

‘ Tenkana ’ is a Kannada word meaning ‘ south’. The name acknowledges that all known species of the genus are found in the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. The gender of the name is to be treated as feminine. The transliterations to different Indian languages are meant only for accessibility and do not represent required pronunciations or transliterations.

Diagnosis.

The phylogeny implies genetic diagnosability. Morphologically, Tenkana is a ground-dwelling plexippine with very robust first legs, recognisable by conspicuous pale bands under the ocular area ridge, often covering the entire surface and narrowing posteriorly on a rounded carapace. The teardrop-shaped abdomen has a broad median pale band. The stubby, non-glossy body of Tenkana distinguishes it from elongate, glossy Colopsus and from its closest relatives, glossy Hyllus and elongate Telamonia .

Tenkana may resemble Hyllus in sharing rounded body form, hair tufts behind ALEs, and membrane-accompanied embolus, but differs in epigyne (two ECPs in Tenkana vs none or reduced in Hyllus ), and RTA (relatively delicate, narrow, short with pointed tip vs robust, broad with serrated broad tip). Tenkana can be confused with Colopsus , but they differ in embolus (membrane-accompanied in Tenkana vs membrane-lacking in Colopsus ), tegular lobe (pronounced vs unpronounced or lacking), epigyne (medially located ECPs vs laterally located ECPs), and chelicerae (simple vs exaggerated).

Distribution.

The southern states of India (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana) and the northern region of Sri Lanka.

Natural history.

Tenkana appears to be an exclusively ground-dwelling group. It is often found among relatively complex microhabitats of shaded short grasses with dry leaf litter in groves or relatively simpler microhabitats in open, sunny, sparse short grasses associated with rocky outcrops in relatively dry habitats. Its movements are reminiscent of those of the unrelated ground-dwelling Stenaelurillus jumping spiders (Aelurillini, Aelurillina).