Rhondes berlandi
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| Rhondes berlandi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Salticidae |
| Subfamily: | Salticinae |
| Genus: | Rhondes |
| Species: | R. berlandi |
| Binomial name | |
| Rhondes berlandi Patoleta, 2016 | |
Rhondes berlandi is an endemic species of jumping spider in the genus Rhondes that lives in New Caledonia. First described in 2016 by Barbara Patoleta, the species has been found on both Grande Terre and Isle of Pines, living in rainforests. Only the female has yet to be described. It is small and slender, with a wide brown hairy cephalothorax and thinner abdomen that is patterned with light and dark patches. The species can be distinguished from the related Rhondes flexibilis by its wide epigynal pocket.
Rhondes berlandi was first identified in 2016 by Barbara Patoleta.[1] The species was named after the French arachnologist Lucien Berland.[2] The genus Rhondes was raised in 1901 by Eugène Simon for endemic species of jumping spiders in New Caledonia.[3] It has been placed in the tribe Viciriini in the clade Astioida.[4] Genetic analysis confirms that it is related to other species found only on the island, including Trite ignipilosa, and not as closely related to members of the Chrysillini tribe, such as the genus Heliophanus, as was originally suggested by Simon.[5][6] The fact that the species on the island are both closely related to each other and genetically distinct from those found off the island is used as evidence of the evolution taking place after the breakup of Gondwana.[7]