Wanda Wesołowska, Charles R. Haddad
African Invertebrates 50 (1), 13-103, (1 June 2009) https://doi.org/10.5733/afin.050.0102
KEYWORDS: Araneae, Salticidae, Jumping spiders, taxonomy, new taxa, synonymy, new combination, new records, South Africa, protected areas
Salticids from the Ndumo Game Reserve (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) are described. In total 72 species of 38 genera were found, of which one genus Aenigma gen. n. and 14 species are described as new: Aenigma incognita sp. n., Bianor eximius sp. n., Evarcha mirabilis sp. n., E. striolata sp. n., Habrocestum africanum sp. n., Icius nigricaudus sp. n., Massagris natalensis sp. n., Phlegra arborea sp. n., Ph. certa sp. n., Pignus pongola sp. n., Pseudicius venustulus sp. n., Rhene pinguis sp. n., Thyenula fidelis sp. n., and Th. magna sp. n. Three specific names are synonymised: Cyrba armata Wesołowska, 2006 with C. lineata Wanless, 1984; Pellenes pulcher Wesołowska, 1999 (junior homonym of P. pulcher Logunov, 1995) with P. tharinae Wesołowska, 2006; and Thyene strandi Caporiacco, 1939 with Th. natalii Peckham & Peckham, 1903. A new combination, Evarcha annae (ex Habrocestum annae Peckham & Peckham, 1903) is proposed. Twenty species are recorded from South Africa for the first time: Asemonea Stella Wanless, 1980; Cyrba boveyi Lessert, 1933; Evarcha elegans Wesołowska & Russell-Smith, 2000; E. ignea Wesołowska & Cumming, 2008; E. prosimilis Wesołowska & Cumming, 2008; Goleba puella (Simon, 1885); Heliophanus fascinatus Wesołowska, 1986; H. pauper Wesołowska, 1986; Hispo georgius (Peckham & Peckham, 1892); Menemerus minshullae Wesołowska, 1999; Modunda staintoni (O.P.-Cambridge, 1872); Myrmarachne lulengana Roewer, 1965; Nigorella plebeja (L. Koch, 1875); Pellenes epularis (O.P.-Cambridge, 1872); P. bulawayoensis Wesołowska, 1999; P. tharinae Wesołowska, 2006; Pseudicius alter Wesołowska, 1999; Schenkelia modesta Lessert, 1927; Thyene bucculenta (Gerstaecker, 1873); and Th. semiargentea (Simon, 1884). The rich diversity of Salticidae collected in this study, and the proportion of new species relative to the total jumping spider fauna (19%), highlight the need to maintain conservation efforts within Maputaland protected areas with management plans that also take invertebrate taxa into consideration.