Pseudicius matabelensis
Pseudicius matabelensis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Pseudicius that ilves in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The spider was first defined in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska. The spider is small, with a cephalothorax between long and an abdomen between long. It has a dark brown carapace and olive-brownish abdomen, the latter with an indistinct pattern of two stripes. The male has stout dark brown front legs. The species is similar to the related Pseudicius procerus but differs in its copulatory organs. The female has two pockets at the front of the epigyne and short seminal ducts leading to large receptacles. The male has a very long tibial apophysis and short embolus.
Taxonomy
Pseudicius matabelensis is a jumping spider that was first described by the Polish arachnologist Wanda Wesołowska in 2011. It was one of more than 500 species that she identified in her career, making her one of the most prolific in the discipline. She allocated the species to the genus Pseudicius, first raised by Eugène Simon in 1885. The genus name is related to two Greek words that can be translated false and honest. The genus was provisionally placed alongside Icius that, despite looking superficially similar, has a different etymology. Indeed, Ekaterina Andreeva, Stefania Hęciak and Jerzy Prószyński looked to combine the genera in 1984. The two genera have similar spermathecal structure but work by Wayne Maddison in 1987 demonstrated that they have very different DNA. The two genera were placed in the tribe Heliophaninae alongside Afraflacilla and Marchena.The tribe is ubiquitous across most continents of the world. Maddison renamed the tribe Chrysillini in 2015. The tribe is a member of the clade Saltafresia within the subfamily Salticoida. A year later, in 2016, Jerzy Prószyński allocated the genus to the Pseudiciines group of genera, which was named after the genus. Marchena is a member of the group, while Icius is not. They have flattened and elongated body and a characteristic colour pattern. The species is named for Matabeleland, the area of Zimbabwe were the species was first identified.Description
Pseudicius matabelensis is a small spider. The male has a cephalothorax that is between long and between wide. The carapace is oval, flat and dark brown with a covering of delicate colourless hairs. It has a black eye field with long thin bristles around the eyes themselves. The chelicerae are large and unidentate. The spider has a brown labium and sternum. The elongated abdomen is between long and between wide. It is olive-brownish with the indistinct impression of two stripes on its topside and a dark brown underside. The spinnerets and foremost legs are also dark brown. The remaining legs are light brown. The forelegs are also very stout. The pedipalps are brown. There is a single very long tibial apophysis.The female is similar to the male. The carapace is approximately the same size, measuring typically long and wide. There are distinctive white hairs on the clypeus. The abdomen is typically long and wide. The foreleg is not as stout as the male, and more similar to the remaining legs. Other features are similar to the male. The spider has an elongated epigyne with a large deep central depression and two pockets placed to the fore. The internal structure of the copulatory organs is complex, with short and narrow seminal ducts leading to very large, wide and heavily sclerotized receptacles.
The species is similar to Pseudicius procerus. The male can be distinguished by the shorter embolus and more elongated palpal bulb. The female has shorter and narrower seminal ducts and the pockets on the epigyne are positioned more to the front. Otherwise, the species can be distinguished from other species in the genus by its very long tibial apophysis.