Mexcala ovambo
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| Mexcala ovambo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A related species, Mexcala quadrimaculata | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Salticidae |
| Subfamily: | Salticinae |
| Genus: | Mexcala |
| Species: | M. ovambo |
| Binomial name | |
| Mexcala ovambo Wesołowska, 2009 | |
Mexcala ovambo is a species of jumping spider in the genus Mexcala that is endemic to Namibia. The spider was first defined in 2009 by Wanda Wesołowska, one of over 500 that the arachnologist described during her career. The spider is medium-sized and slender, with a yellowish-brown body carapace typically 3.1 mm (0.12 in) long and an abdomen typically 4.7 mm (0.19 in) long. It mimics ants, living alongside and preying upon them. The female can be distinguished from the related Mexcala quadrimaculata in its widely spaced depressions in the epigyne. The male has not been described.
Mexcala ovambo is a jumping spider that was first described by the Polish arachnologist Wanda Wesołowska in 2009, one of over 500 species she identified during her career.[1][2] She allocated the species to the genus Mexcala, first raised by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1902 as part of a thorough revision of the genus.[2][3] The genus was a member of the tribe Heliophaninae alongside Pseudicius and Cosmophasis, which was absorbed into Chrysillini by Wayne Maddison in 2015.[4][5] The tribe is a member of the clade Saltafresia within the subfamily Salticoida.[6] 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.[7] The species itself has a name that is derived from the Ovambo people.[8]
Description
Like all Mexcala spiders, the species is slender and medium-sized.[9] The female has s yellowish-brown carapace that is typically 3.1 mm (0.12 in) long. It has a dark eye field. The chelicerae have a single tooth. The abdomen is typically 4.7 mm (0.19 in) long and yellowish-brown. Brown hairs cover the whole body. The long thin legs are yellow with black lines along the sides. The epigyne has two rounded widely spaced openings leading to curved seminal ducts.[8] The male has not been described.[1]
The species is similar to Mexcala quadrimaculata, but differs in the more widely spaced depressions in the epigyne.[8] Like many jumping spiders, Wesołowska and Tamás Szűts noted that Mexcala spiders mimic ants.[10] Some are particularly similar to members of the Camponotus genus. However, they mainly resemble Mutillidae, a species of wasp that has ant-like characteristics. The species particularly resembles the female, which is wingless, in its body proportions.[9]