''Rhene pinguis'' 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 was identified in South Africa. The male was first described in 2009 and the female in 2018. The spider is flat and hairy, its swollen look giving rise to its species name. The female is slightly larger than the male, but neither have been seen with a

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

longer than and

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. ...

more than in length.

Taxonomy

''Rhene pinguis'' is a member of the

'', which is named after the Greek female name, shared by mythological figures. The species name, pinguis, means fat or thick, and relates to the swollen look of the spider.

Description

The spider was first identified in 2009, with initially only the male described. The female was first described in 2018. The spider is flat, hairy and brown in colour. The male is distinguished by its the wide vane at the tip of the embolus. The female is similar to the related ''

Rhene formosa ''Rhene formosa'' is a species of jumping spider in the genus ''Rhene'' 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 br ...

'', but differs in the design of its copulatory opening. The species are similar in size, the female being marginally larger. The

has a length of and the

is long.

Distribution

''Rhene pinguis'' has only been identified in South Africa. It is restricted to the

Ndumo Game Reserve Ndumo Game Reserve is a small () South African game reserve located in the far northeast district of KwaZulu-Natal known as Maputaland. It is situated on the border with Mozambique where the Pongola River joins the Great Usutu River. It is adjacen ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2557213 Endemic fauna of South Africa Salticidae Spiders of South Africa Spiders described in 2009 Taxa named by Wanda Wesołowska

Taxonomy

Description

Distribution

See also

References