Rhene formosa is a species of jumping spider in the genus Rhene that lives in the mountains of Guinea. The female was first identified in 2002 while the male remains unknown. The spider is small, with a line of white hairs on a darker brown carapace and a lighter beige and longer elongated abdomen.

Rhene formosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Salticidae
Subfamily: Salticinae
Genus: Rhene
Species:
R. formosa
Binomial name
Rhene formosa
Wesołowska & Rollard, 2002

Taxonomy edit

Rhene formosa was first identified by Charles Haddad and Wanda Wesołowska in 2011.[1] It was allocated to the genus Rhene, which is named after the Greek female name, shared by mythological figures, in the family Salticidae.[2] The species name is the Latin for shapely, and recalls the body shape of the spider.[3]

Description edit

Only the female has been described. It has a flat, wide, dark brown carapace that is 2.2 millimetres (0.087 in) in length. The carapace is hairy, mostly covered with brown and grey hairs, but with a line of white hairs behind the first row of eyes. The abdomen is elongated and light beige, measuring 3.5 millimetres (0.14 in) in length.[3] The species is similar to the related Rhene pinguis, but differs in the design of its copulatory opening.[4] The epigyne is large and the copulatory openings are hidden.[3]

Distribution edit

The species has been found in the Guinea Highlands in Guinea.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ World Spider Catalog (2017). "Rhene formosa Wesolowska & Rollard, 2002". World Spider Catalog. 18.0. Bern: Natural History Museum. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  2. ^ Thorell, Tamerlan (1869). On European Spiders, Part 1: Review of the European Genera of Spiders, Preceded by Some Observations on Zoological Nomenclature. p. 37.
  3. ^ a b c d Rollard, C. & Wesołowska, W. (2002). "Jumping spiders (Arachnida, Araneae, Salticidae) from the Nimba Mountains in Guinea" (PDF). Zoosystema. 24 (2): 283–307. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  4. ^ Wesołowska, W.; Haddad, C.R. (2018). "Further additions to the jumping spider fauna of South Africa (Araneae: Salticidae)". Annales Zoologici. 68 (4): 903.