Mexcala smaragdina

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Mexcala smaragdina
A related species, Mexcala quadrimaculata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Salticidae
Subfamily: Salticinae
Genus: Mexcala
Species:
M. smaragdina
Binomial name
Mexcala smaragdina

Mexcala smaragdina is a

embolus that is shorter than the related Mexcala caerulea
but otherwise the male copulatory organs are similar. The female has not been identified. The spider is most easily distinguished by the green-metallic sheen on its body, which is referred to in the species name.

Taxonomy

Mexcala smaragdina is a

Heliophaninae alongside Pseudicius and Cosmophasis, which was absorbed into Chrysillini by Wayne Maddison in 2015.[3][4] The tribe is a member of the clade Saltafresia within the subfamily Salticoida.[5] A year later, in 2016, Jerzy Prószyński allocated the genus to the Heliophanines group of genera, which was named after the genus Heliophanus. The genera share characteristics, including having a rather uniform, mainly dark appearance.[6]

Description

Like all Mexcala spiders, the species is slender and medium-sized.

tegulum.[4][9] The copulatory organs are similar to Mexcala caerulea, but the embolus is shorter. The spider is otherwise most easily identified compared to others in the genus by the greenish shine on its body, after which it is named.[8] The female has not been described.[1]

Behaviour

Like many jumping spiders, Wesołowska and Tamás Szűts noted that Mexcala spiders mimic ants.[10] The spiders live amongst the species of ant and ant-like wasps that it mimics.[11][12] Like other jumping spiders, they are mainly a diurnal hunter that uses their good eyesight to spot their prey.[13] The spider attacks from the front and captures its prey behind the head.[14] It uses visual displays during courtship and transmits vibratory signals through silk to communicate to other spiders.[15] The bristles on the chelicerae may be used for digging holes to act as underground hiding places.[16]

Distribution

Mexcala spiders can be found across Africa and the Arabian peninsula.[16] Mexcala smaragdina is endemic to Nigeria.[1] The holotype was found near Calabar in Cross River State in 1984.[8]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c World Spider Catalog (2017). "Mexcala smaragdina Wesolowska & Edwards, 2012". World Spider Catalog. 18.0. Bern: Natural History Museum. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  2. ^ Wesołowska 2009, p. 149.
  3. ^ Maddison, Bodner & Needham 2008, p. 57.
  4. ^ a b Maddison 2015, p. 252.
  5. ^ Maddison 2015, p. 278.
  6. ^ Prószyński 2017, p. 29.
  7. ^ Wesołowska 2009, p. 152.
  8. ^ a b c d Wesołowska & Edwards 2012, p. 753.
  9. ^ a b Wesołowska & Edwards 2012, p. 754.
  10. ^ Wesołowska & Szűts 2001, p. 523.
  11. ^ Pekár & Haddad 2011, p. 133.
  12. ^ Pekár, Petráková Dušátková & Haddad 2020, p. 6.
  13. ^ Richman & Jackson 1992, p. 33.
  14. ^ Pekár, Petráková Dušátková & Haddad 2020, p. 5.
  15. ^ Richman & Jackson 1992, p. 34.
  16. ^ a b Wesołowska 2009, p. 153.

Bibliography

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