''Rhene formosa'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of jumping spider in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Rhene ''Rhene'' is a spider genus of the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). Taxonomy The genus was originally named ''Rhanis'' by C. L. Koch in 1846. However, this name had already been used for a beetle genus in 1834. Accordingly, Tamerlan Thorel ...

'' that lives in the mountains of Guinea. The female was first identified in 2002 while the male remains unknown. The spider is small, with a line of white hairs on a darker brown

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 ...

and a lighter beige and longer elongated

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

Taxonomy

''Rhene formosa'' was first identified by Charles Haddad and Wanda Wesołowska in 2011. It was allocated to the

'', which is named after the Greek female name, shared by mythological figures, in the family Salticidae. The

name is the Latin for shapely, and recalls the body shape of the spider.

Description

Only the female has been described. It has a flat, wide, dark brown

that is in length. The carapace is hairy, mostly covered with brown and grey hairs, but with a line of white hairs behind the first row of eyes. The

is elongated and light beige, measuring in length. The species is similar to the related '' Rhene pinguis'', but differs in the design of its copulatory opening. 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. ...

is large and the copulatory openings are hidden.

Distribution

The species has been found in the

Guinea Highlands The Guinea Highlands is a densely forested mountainous plateau extending from central Guinea through northern Sierra Leone and Liberia to western Ivory Coast. The highlands include a number of mountains, ranges and plateaus, including the Fouta ...

in Guinea.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2147757 Fauna of Guinea Salticidae Spiders described in 2002 Spiders of Africa Taxa named by Wanda Wesołowska