Rhene flavigera (C.L. Koch, 1846 )

Caleb, John T. D., Sanap, Rajesh V., Tripathi, Rishikesh, Sampathkumar, M., Dharmaraj, Jayaraman & Packiam, Soosaimanickam Maria, 2022, Taxonomic notes on some South and Southeast Asian members of the genus Rhene Thorell, 1869 (Aranei, Salticidae, Dendryphantini), Zootaxa 5125 (4), pp. 389-407 : 392-398

Rhene flavigera (C.L. Koch, 1846)

Figs 5–35 , 72

Rhanis flavigera C. L. Koch, 1846: 14 : 86, fig. 1340 (D ♂).

Rhene flavigera Prószyński, 1984: 119–121 (♂, D ♀); Żabka, 1985: 443, figs 541–543 (♀).

Rhene rubrigera Prószyński, 1984: 121 (♀ from Burma (now Myanmar), misidentified).

Rhene danieli Tikader, 1973: 71 , figs 5–9 (D ♂); holotype ♂ in NZC-ZSI, examined; syn. n.

Rhene indicus Tikader, 1973: 68 , figs 1–4 (D ♂ ♀); holotype ♀, allotype ♂ and paratypes ♀♀, in NZC-ZSI, examined; syn. n. Rhene khandalaensis Tikader, 1977: 274 , figs 1–3 (D ♀); holotype ♀, not examined; syn. n.

Zygoballus citri Sadana, 1991: 73 , figs 1–6 (D ♂ ♀); holotype ♀ & paratypes ♂ ♀, repository unknown, not examined; syn. n. Rhene sanghrakshiti Gajbe, 2004: 137 , figs 184–186 (D ♀); holotype ♀, in NZC-ZSI, examined; syn. n.

For a complete list of taxonomic references see WSC (2022).

Types. Rhene danieli Tikader, 1973 : Holotype ♂ (NZC-ZSI) from INDIA, Maharashtra, Bombay (presently Mumbai), Borivili (= Borivali), 16.08.1972, leg. J.C. Daniel (Note: There were two males in the same vial. The bigger one is taken as the holotype as it fits with the body measurements and illustrations provided in the original description).

Rhene khandalaensis Tikader, 1977 : Holotype ♀ (NZC-ZSI) from INDIA, Maharashtra, Poona (presently Pune) Distr., Khandala , 9.11.1963, leg. B.K. Tikader (specimen could not be traced in the ZSI collections).

Rhene sanghrakshiti Gajbe, 2004 : Holotype ♀ (NZC-ZSI) from INDIA, Madhya Pradesh, Jabalpur, Garha , 14.08.1997, leg. P. Gajbe.

Rhene indica Tikader, 1973 : Holotype ♀ (NZC-ZSI) from INDIA, Punjab , Ludhiana, the Punjab Agricultural University compound, 17.02.1972, leg. G.L. Sadana. Allotype ♂ and Paratypes (2 ♀♀), together with the holotype.

Zygoballus citri Sadana, 1991 : Holotype ♀ from INDIA, Punjab , Ludhiana, the Punjab Agricultural University, 12.12.1989, leg. G.L. Sadana. Allotype ♂ and Paratypes (4 ♀♀ and 3 ♂♂), together with the holotype (author mentioned that the types will be deposited in NZC-ZSI but they could not be traced in the ZSI collections).

Comparative material. Rhene flavigera (C.L. Koch, 1846) from MALAYSIA: 1 ♂, 1 ♀ (MMUE, G7572.22409), Selangor Province, Banting , 100 m a.s.l., leg. W. Corley, 14 Nov 1982, det. J.A. Murphy (1990) ; 1 ♂, 4 ♀♀ (MMUE, G7572.14465), W. Pahang Province, Genting , 700 m a.s.l., leg. J. Murphy & F. Murphy, 01 Feb 1988, det. J.A. Murphy (1991) ; 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀ (MMUE, G7572.18303), W. Pahang Province, Genting , 600 m a.s.l., leg. J. Murphy & F. Murphy, 26 Nov 1990, det. J.A. Murphy (1991).

Other material. INDIA: Kerala: 1 ♂ (RTC), Irinjalakuda (10.34137°N, 76.19612°E), 6 m a.s.l., 01.10.2021, leg. R. Tripathi ; 1 ♂ (RTC), Kerala, Wayanad, Valliyoorkavu (11.8043°N, 76.0305°E) 736 m a.s.l., 18.10.2021, leg. A. Jose ; Maharashtra: 2 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀ (RVSC), Mumbai, Aarey Milk Colony (19.1425°N, 72.8674°E), 37 m a.s.l., 27.07.2017, leg. R. Sanap ; Tamil Nadu: 1 ♂ (JDC), Nilgiri Distr. , (11.3266°N, 76.6255°E), 1994 m a.s.l., 15.11.2020, leg. J. Dharmaraj ; 1 ♀ (NBAIR-NIM-SPI-24F/19) & 1 ♂ (NBAIR-NIM-SPI-24M/19), Ooty, Muthorai , from tea ecosystem (11.387111°N, 76.670806°E), 2133 m a.s.l., 24.09.2019, leg. M. Sampathkumar ; Karnataka: 3 ♀♀ (NBAIR-NIM-SPI-25F/21) & 1 ♂ (NBAIR-NIM-SPI-25M/21), Bengaluru, Atturu, from Okra ecosystem (13.096889°N, 77.568139°E), 934 m a.s.l., 19.03.2021, leg. M. Sampathkumar ; 1 ♂ (NBAIR-NIM-SPI-24M/20), Bengaluru, Hesaraghatta , from pomegranate ecosystem (13.131278°N, 77.492167°E), 858 m a.s.l., 24.09.2020, leg. M. Sampathkumar.

Comments. Rhene danieli Tikader, 1973 was originally described from a holotype male collected from Mumbai (erstwhile Bombay), Maharashtra ( Tikader, 1973) and later recorded from other localities in West Bengal ( Tikader & Biswas, 1981; Roy et al., 2016). A detailed examination of the male specimens revealed that its abdominal colour pattern and the palpal morphology are identical to those of R. flavigera (cf. Figs 5–10 with illustrations in Prószyński (1984: 119) and fig. 52 in Maddison (1996)). It is therefore safe to conclude that this species is a junior synonym of R. flavigera .

Rhene khandalaensis Tikader, 1977 was described from Khandala, Maharashtra based on a female holotype and four female paratypes ( Tikader, 1977). The types were not available and may have been either misplaced in the collection or lost. However, the original illustrations, though not so detailed, helped to recognize the species. The colour pattern of the abdomen is identical with that of R. flavigera and the epigyne with oval openings and median epigynal pocket and the internal structures with mid-portion of insemination ducts running parallel close to each other and the convoluted spermathecae (cf. figs 1–3 in Tikader (1977) with illustrations in Prószyński (1984: 120, 121), figs 541, 542 in Żabka (1985) and Figs 12–16 herein). R. khandalaensis is therefore regarded as a junior synonym of R. flavigera .

Rhene sanghrakshiti Gajbe, 2004 was described based on a female holotype from Garha, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh ( Gajbe, 2004). Detailed examination of the holotype revealed that the abdominal colour pattern and the female genitalia with large oval copulatory openings, median epigynal pocket and convoluted spermathecae match clearly with that of R. flavigera (cf. Figs 12–16 with illustrations in Prószyński (1984: 120) and figs 541, 542 in Żabka (1985)). Based on the above observations, it is safe to conclude that the species is a junior synonym of R. flavigera .

Rhene indica and Rhene citri were both described from the same type locality—the Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana. Although the type material of R. citri was not available for the study, we could examine the type specimens of R. indica from the same locality. The palpal morphology of the single (allotype) male of R. indica could not be studied in detail as both palps were missing but the original illustration of the palp is identical to R. flavigera (cf. Figs 9 & 29 with fig. 2 in Tikader, 1973). However, the colour pattern agrees with that of R. flavigera (cf. Figs 18, 19, 21–24 with illustrations in Prószyński (1984: 121)). The epigyne of both R. indica and R. citri with ovoid epigynal openings and a median epigynal pocket unambiguously match with the epigyne of R. flavigera (cf. Fig. 20 and fig. 2 in Sadana (1991) with illustrations in Prószyński (1984: 120, 121)). Based on the general morphology and copulatory organs there remains no doubt that both species are indeed junior synonyms of R. flavigera .

The relation of R. flavigera and R. albigera based on all available illustrations and the original descriptions point that both species names are synonyms having been described in the same work and both were described from single males collected from the same locality, Bintang (C.L. Koch, 1846). The name R. flavigera (on p. 86) would be valid as it precedes R. albigera (on p. 87) in the original publication (C.L. Koch, 1846). A formal synonymize is not done here as the corresponding types are to be studied.

Distribution. Pakistan, China, Vietnam to Indonesia (Sumatra) ( WSC, 2022), India (Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu) ( Fig. 72 ).

Figures

FIGURE 72. Type localities (solid black) and distributional records (solid white) of Rhene species studied in this work.

FIGURES 5–11. Somatic and genitalia morphology of Rhene danieli Tikader, 1973, holotype male: 5—dorsal view; 6—front view; 7—lateral view; 8—left palp, ventral view; 9—ditto, ventro-lateral view; 10—ditto, retrolateral view; 11—label. Scale bars: (8–10) 0.2 mm, (5–7) 1 mm.

FIGURES 12–17. Somatic morphology and copulatory organs of Rhene sanghrakshiti Gajbe, 2004, holotype female: 12—general appearance, dorsal view; 13—ditto, lateral view; 14—ditto, front view; 15—epigyne, ventral view; 16—vulva, dorsal view; 17—label. Scale bars: (15, 16) 0.2 mm, (12–14) 2 mm.

FIGURES 18–25. Somatic morphology and copulatory organs of Rhene indica Tikader, 1973: 18—holotype female habitus, dorsal view; 19—ditto, front view; 20—epigyne, ventral view; 21—allotype male habitus, dorsal view; 22—ditto, front view; 23—ditto, lateral view; 24—paratype females, dorsal view; 25—label.Scale bars: (18, 19, 24) 2 mm, (21–23) 1 mm, (20) 0.2 mm.

FIGURES 26–29. Somatic morphology and copulatory organs of Rhene flavigera (C.L. Koch, 1846) from Kerala: 26—habitus, dorsal view; 27—left palp, ventral view; 28—ditto, ventral view; 29—ditto, retrolateral view. Scale bars: (27–29) 0.1 mm, (26) 1 mm.

FIGURES 30–35. General habitus of Rhene flavigera (C.L. Koch, 1846) from Maharashtra: 30—female, dorso-lateral view; 31—ditto, dorsal view; 32—ditto, front view; 33—male approaching the female on a leaf, dorsal view; 34, 35—mating sequence.