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| Ghatippus paschima Marathe & Maddison, in Marathe, Maddison & Kunte, 2024. |
Abstract
We propose a new genus of plexippine jumping spiders from the Western Ghats of India based on the new species Ghatippus paschima gen. et sp. nov. While it bears a superficial resemblance to Pancorius in body form and Hyllus in membrane-bearing embolus, our UCE phylogenomic data—the first to resolve broad relationships within the Plexippina—as well as morphological features justify its status as a new genus. In addition to the molecular data and morphological descriptions, we provide photographs of living specimens of Ghatippus paschima gen. et sp. nov. and information on their natural history.
Key words: Araneae, biodiversity research, classification, phylogenomics, systematics, taxonomy
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| Habitus of Ghatippus paschima sp. nov. 26–31 male (IBC-BP828/ AS19.4384) 32–34 male (IBC-BP833/ AS19.3805) 35–38 female, (IBC-BP834/ AS19.3814) 39, 40 (IBC-BP835/ AS19.3821). Scale bar: 1.0 mm. |
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| Ghatippus paschima sp. nov. genitalia (top row) and alcohol preserved types habitus (bottom row) 18 male (holotype IBC-BP817) left palp, ventral view 19 ditto, retrolateral view 20 epigyne, ventral view (paratype IBC-BP818) 21 vulva, dorsal view (paratype IBC-BP818) 22 male (holotype IBC-BP817), dorsal view 23 ditto, ventral view 24 female (paratype IBC-BP818), dorsal view 25 ditto, ventral view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm for genitalia; 1.0 mm for bodies. |
Family Salticidae Blackwall, 1841
Tribe Plexippini Simon, 1901
Subtribe Plexippina Simon, 1901
Ghatippus Marathe & Maddison, gen. nov.
Kannada: ಪ | Devanagari: घािटस्
Ghatippus paschima Marathe & Maddison, sp. nov.
Etymology: The generic name Ghatippus gen. nov. combines the word ‘Ghat’, representing the collecting locality—the Western Ghats Mountain range—with the distinctive suffix found in several plexippine genera. The generic name is assigned to the masculine gender.
Diagnosis: The UCE phylogeny implies genetic diagnosability of Ghatippus gen. nov., but here we focus on the morphological distinctions. The membranous retrolateral edge of the embolus (Figs 2, 18) and lack of distinct epigynal coupling pockets (Figs 4, 20) differentiate Ghatippus gen. nov. from all members of clade 1 (Fig. 1) and other plexippines except Hyllus, Thyene Simon, 1885, and Vailimia Kammerer, 2006. Also, Ghatippus gen. nov. is the only plexippine reported to have a bifurcated male fang with nearly co-equal branch points (Figs 6, 12).
Ghatippus paschima Marathe & Maddison, sp. nov.
Etymology: The specific epithet paschima, a noun in apposition, means “west” in both Sanskrit and Kannada.
Kiran Marathe, Wayne P. Maddison and Krushnamegh Kunte. 2024. Ghatippus paschima, A New Species and Genus of plexippine Jumping Spider from the Western Ghats of India (Salticidae, Plexippini, Plexippina). ZooKeys. 1191: 89-103. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1191.114117
