Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 May 2023 | 15(5): 23276–23278

 

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8463.15.5.23276-23278

#8463 | Received 31 March 2023 | Final received 10 May 2023 | Finally accepted 17 May 2023

 

 

New distribution records of two jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) from Gujarat, India

 

Subhash Parmar 1  & Dhruv A. Prajapati 2

 

1,2 Web of Nature (WON) Research Foundation, Nisarg dreams, Shilaj, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380058, India.

1 parmarsubhash329@gmail.com, 2 dhruvspidy215@gmail.com (corresponding author)

 

 

Editor: John T.D. Caleb, SIMATS, Saveetha University, Chennai, India. Date of publication: 26 May 2023 (online & print)

 

Citation: Parmar, S. & D.A. Prajapati (2023). New distribution records of two jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) from Gujarat, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 15(5): 23276–23278. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8463.15.5.23276-23278

 

Copyright: © Parmar & Prajapati 2023. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.  JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding: Crowdfunding.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: We are also thankful to Mrs Priyal Patel (WON Research Foundation, Ahmedabad) for her generous help in preparation of images.

 

 

Indian Plexippini is represented by 18 genera and 56 species (Maddison 2015; Caleb & Sankaran 2023). Of these, seven genera are reported from Gujarat State: Epeus Peckham & Peckham, Bianor Peckham & Peckham, Harmochirus Simon, Hyllus C.L.Koch, Plexippus C.L.Koch, Telamonia Thorell and Thyene Simon (Prajapati et al. 2016; Yadav et al. 2017). During recent surveys in Aravalli Hills, we identified two more plexippine jumping spider species which are new to Gujarat State. The present paper thus deals with the discovery and record of two species—Vailimia ajmerensis Caleb & Jangid, 2020 and Modunda staintoni (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872)—for the first time from the Aravalli Hills in Gujarat, India.

The specimens were hand collected and studied under a Leica M205 A stereomicroscope and the microphotographic images were taken by a Leica DFC2900 digital camera attached to the stereomicroscope and enabled with the software package Leica Application Suite (LAS), version 4.5.0. Left pedipalps were removed, studied and were photographed by placing them in a cavity block filled with ethanol. The species were identified by using Logunov (2001)  and Basumatary et al. (2020). The examined specimens have been deposited in the reference collection of the Web of Nature (WON) Research Foundation, Gujarat, India.

 

Family Salticidae Blackwall, 1841

Genus Modunda Simon, 1901

Type species: Modunda phragmitis Simon, 1901

 

Modunda staintoni (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872)

Image 1, 4–5

Salticus staintoni O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872: 331, pl. 14, fig. 20

Modunda staintoni Logunov, 2001: 277, figs. 347–366.

Material examined: WON100351, 21.v.2021, 1 male, India, Gujarat, Danta Village (24.191668°N, 77.7706°E), 777 m, from foliage, leg. S. Parmar.

Diagnosis: The species can be easily distinguished by the following characters: male pedipalp with rounded bulb; embolus long and slender, surrounding the bulb; Retrolateral tibial apophysis (RTA)  robust, slightly curved (Image 4–5).

Distribution in India: Punjab (Logunov 2001) and Gujarat (new record) (Figure 1).

 

Genus Vailimia Kammerer, 2006

Type species: Vailima masinei G.W.Peckham & E.G.Peckham, 1907.

 

Vailimia ajmerensis Caleb & Jangid, 2020

Image 2–3, 6–7

Vailimia ajmerensis Caleb & Jangid, in Basumatary et al. 2020: 180, figs. 1–11.

Material examined: WON100639, 21.v.2021, 1 male, India, Gujarat, Danta Village (24.191667°N, 77.7707°E), 777 m, from foliage, leg. S. Parmar.

Diagnosis: The species can be easily distinguished by the following characters: male pedipalp with long embolus, its base thick and broad and the tip narrowed, directed at 2 o’clock position (Image 6); RTA long and simple, broad at the base and tapered at the tip, with a slight curve distally (Image7).

Distribution: Rajasthan (Basumatary et al. 2020) and Gujarat (new record) (Figure 1).

 

For figure & images – click here for full PDF

 

 

References

 

Basumatary, P., J.T.D. Caleb, S. Das, A.K. Jangid, J. Kalita & D. Brahma (2020). First record of the genus Vailimia Kammerer, 2006 from India, with the description of two new species (Araneae: Salticidae: Plexippina). Zootaxa 4790(1): 178–186. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4790.1.11

Caleb, J.T.D. & P.M. Sankaran (2023). Araneae of India, Version 2023. http://www.indianspiders.in. Accessed 23 March 2023.

Logunov, D.V. (2001). A redefinition of the genera Bianor Peckham & Peckham, 1885 and Harmochirus Simon, 1885, with the establishment of a new genus Sibianor gen. n. (Aranei: Salticidae). Arthropoda Selecta 9(4, 2000): 221–286.

Maddison, W.P. (2015). A phylogenetic classification of jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae). Journal of Arachnology 43(3): 231–292. https://doi.org/10.1636/arac-43-03-231-292

Pickard-Cambridge, O. (1872). General list of the spiders of Palestine and Syria, with descriptions of numerous new species, and characters of two new genera. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 40(1): 212–354. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1872.tb00489.x

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Yadav, A., R. Solanki, M. Siliwal & D. Kumar (2017). Spiders of Gujarat: a preliminary checklist. Journal of Threatened Taxa 9(9): 10697–10716. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3042.9.9.10697-10716