''Mexcala meridiana'' is a species of jumping spider in the genus ''

Mexcala ''Mexcala'' is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1902. The name is probably derived from the Nahuatl ''mezcal''. Species it contains twenty-one species, found only in Africa, Yemen, and Iran: ...

'' that is endemic to South Africa, found in

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

. The spider was first defined in 2009 by Wanda Wesołowska, one of over 500 that the arachnologist described during her career. It mimics ants and ant-like wasps, living alongside and preying upon them. Only the female has been identified. The spider is medium-sized, with a brown to blackish

carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...

typically long and a brownish abdomen typically long. It is similar externally to other spiders in the genus, the most distinguishing feature being its copulatory organs.

Taxonomy

''Mexcala meridiana'' is a jumping spider that was first described by the Polish arachnologist Wanda Wesołowska in 2009, one of over 500 species she identified during her career. She allocated the species to the genus ''

'', first raised by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1902 as part of a thorough revision of the genus. The genus was a member of the tribe

Heliophaninae Chrysillini is a tribe of jumping spider in the family Salticidae. In Maddison's 2015 revision of the family, the subfamily Heliophaninae was reclassified as a junior synonym of Chrysillini. Genera * '' Afraflacilla'' * '' Augustaea'' * '' ...

alongside '' Pseudicius'' and '' Cosmophasis'', which was absorbed into

Chrysillini Chrysillini is a tribe of jumping spider in the family Salticidae. In Maddison's 2015 revision of the family, the subfamily Heliophaninae was reclassified as a junior synonym of Chrysillini. Genera * '' Afraflacilla'' * '' Augustaea'' * '' ...

by Wayne Maddison in 2015. The tribe is a member of the

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

Saltafresia within the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Salticoida Salticoida is an unranked clade of the jumping spider family Salticidae. It is the larger and more widespread of the two subdivisions of the "typical" jumping spiders (subfamily Salticinae), occurring effectively world-wide. Its sister clade is ...

. A year later, in 2016,

Jerzy Prószyński Jerzy Prószyński (born 1935 in Warsaw) is a Polish arachnologist specializing in systematics of jumping spiders (family Salticidae). He is a graduate of the University of Warsaw, a long-term employee of the Siedlce University of Natural Scienc ...

allocated the genus to the Heliophanines group of genera, which was named after the genus ''

Heliophanus ''Heliophanus'' is a genus of the spider family Salticidae (jumping spiders). Most of the almost 170 described species occur in Africa, with many others found in the Palearctic region from Europe to Japan. Species , the World Spider Catal ...

''. The genera share characteristics, including having a rather uniform, mainly dark appearance. The species itself has a name that is derived from the Latin word for southern and refers to it being found in Southern Africa.

Description

Like all ''Mexcala'' spiders, the species is slender and medium-sized. The female has a brown

covered in dense brown hairs that is typically long. The eye field is darker with black markings around the eyes. It has light brown mouthparts with yellow edges to the maxilla. The abdomen is typically long, brownish on top and darker underneath, with a pattern of two lighter streaks It has light brown

legs A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element ...

. The

epigyne The epigyne or epigynum is the external genital structure of female spiders. As the epigyne varies greatly in form in different species, even in closely related ones, it often provides the most distinctive characteristic for recognizing species. ...

has a large shallow depression. The copulatory canals are separate to each other and lead to very simple internal copulatory organs. This differentiates the species from others in the genus. The male has not been described.

Behaviour

Like many jumping spiders, Wesołowska and Tamás Szűts noted that ''Mexcala'' spiders mimic ants. The species lives amongst various different species of ant and ant-like wasps that it mimics, and preys upon. Like other jumping spiders, it is a mainly diurnal hunter that uses its good eyesight to spot its prey. It attacks from the front and captures its prey behind the head. The chelicerae have short thick spines on them which may be used for digging holes to act as underground hiding places. It uses visual displays during courtship and transmits vibratory signals through silk to communicate to other spiders.

Distribution

''Mexcala'' spiders can be found across Africa and the Arabian peninsula. ''Mexcala meridiana'' is endemic to South Africa. The holotype was found near Sabie in

in 1927.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2144945 Endemic spiders of South Africa Salticidae Spiders described in 2009 Spiders of South Africa Taxa named by Wanda Wesołowska