''Stenaelurillus brandbergensis'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

''Mashonarus brandbergensis'', is a species of jumping spider in the genus ''

Stenaelurillus ''Stenaelurillus'' is a genus of Salticidae, jumping spiders that was first described by Eugène Simon, Eugène Louis Simon in 1886. Most species live in Africa, with some species found in Asia, including China. All species have two white longitud ...

'' that lives in Namibia. It was first described in 2006 by Wanda Wesołowska and placed in the genus '' Mashonarus'' but was moved to its current genus in 2018. The spider is medium-sized and black, 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 ...

between in length and an abdomen between long. It is distinguished from other members of the genus by having two broad white stripes that mark both the abdomen and

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 ...

. 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. ...

in the female also has shorter insemination ducts than the otherwise similar, though larger, '' Stenaelurillus guttatus''.

Taxonomy

''Mashonarus brandbergensis'' is a species of jumping spider that was first described by Wanda Wesołowska in 2006. It is one of over 500 species identified by the Polish arachnologist. It was initially placed in the genus '' Mashonarus'', which had been created by Wesołowska and Meg S. Cumming in 2002. The genus name was derived from

Mashonaland Mashonaland is a region in northern Zimbabwe. Currently, Mashonaland is divided into four provinces, * Mashonaland West * Mashonaland Central * Mashonaland East * Harare The Zimbabwean capital of Harare, a province unto itself, lies entirely ...

, the area where it was first found. The spiders in the genus were medium-sized, between in length, and were differentiated by their sexual organs. At the time, the species was seen as very similar to ''

'', particularly in the structure of the

and the shield-like shape of and patterns on the abdomen. The species was moved to ''Stenaelurillus'' by Dmitri Logunov and Galina N. Azarkina in 2018. ''Stenaelurillus'' had been first raised by

Eugène Simon Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects and spiders, but also on birds and plants. He is by far the most prolific spider taxonomist in history, describing over 4, ...

in 1885. The genus name relates to the genus name ''

Aelurillus ''Aelurillus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). Description Species of the genus ''Aelurillus'' are typically about 7 mm long in females, and up to five mm in males. They are stout, squat-shaped and rather f ...

'', which itself derives from the Greek word for cat, with the addition of a Greek stem meaning narrow. In 2017, it was grouped with nine other genera of jumping spiders under the name Aelurillines. It has been placed in the subtribe Aelurillina in the tribe Aelurillini in 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. The species name is derived from the place where it was first found, the Brandberg Mountain.

Description

The spider is medium-sized and generally similar to '' Stenaelurillus guttatus'' although smaller. The male has a

that measures between in length and between in width. The pear-shaped

is black with white edges. The abdomen is oval, black and hairy, between long and wide. Both the abdomen and carapace have two wide stripes that go from front to back made of white hairs. Sometimes these are broken into three bands. This most distinguishes the species from ''Stenaelurillus guttatus'' and other members of the genus in Africa. Only '' Stenaelurillus marusiki'', found in Iran, has a similar design. The eye field is black and is surrounded by long bristles. The spinnerets are long and yellow, and the legs are light brown. The pedipalps are small, dark brown or black with some small white hairs. The palpal bulb is elongated and the embolus is thin and hidden with only the tip visible. The female is similar to the male in shape but slightly larger. It has an cephalothorax long and wide and an abdomen that is between long and wide. The colouring is similar. The

is small with lateral copulatory openings and very short insemination ducts. Apart from the striped pattern, it is the very short insemination ducts that most distinguish the species from ''Stenaelurillus guttatus''.

Distribution

The species was first identified in the area around the Brandberg Mountain in Namibia. It is endemic to the country.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from1=Q56646876, from2=Q2133031 Endemic fauna of Namibia Fauna of Namibia Salticidae Spiders of Africa Spiders described in 2006 Taxa named by Wanda Wesołowska