Apricia Richardson, 2016, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Richardson, Barry J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Salticidae
Apricia

description: Apricia gen. nov.
Type species: Marptusa jovialis L. Koch, 1879.
Etymology. The name reflects the Latin ‘ apricus ’—lying open to the sun, and refers to the type species’ habit of basking on sunny walls. It is to be treated as feminine in gender.
Remarks. It has been known for some time that ‘ Breda ’ jovialis (L. Koch, 1879) and ‘ Menemerus ’ bracteatus (L. Koch, 1879) are placed in the wrong genera (Davies & Żabka 1989). Members of the American genus Breda Peckham & Peckham, 1894 differ from B. jovialis in having a long tibial apophysis and a long embolus arising posteriorly (Davies & Żabka 1989; Ruiz & Brescovit 2013), unlike this Australian species. The latter authors transferred this species to the, more nearly related, Australian genus, Ocrisiona Simon, 1901, pending proper revision, while Maddison & Hedin (2003) placed it, on molecular evidence, near the Australian genus Holoplatys Simon, 1885.
Diagnosis. In Apricia, individuals are medium to large in size with low but not compressed profiles, as found in Ocrisiona and Holoplatys. In each species there is a distinctive bright yellow pattern on an otherwise dark abdomen. There are no lighter striae on the posterior face of the cephalothorax, unlike Pungalina.
Apricia can be differentiated from Holoplatys and Ocrisiona in several ways. It is not as specialized for life in crevices or under bark; for example, in not being so flattened in form. Tibial spines are absent in Holoplatys, while relictual spines are present on T1 and T 2 in Ocrisiona and on T1, T2 and T 3 in Apricia. There is a general similarity in the structure of the female genitalia in the three genera, for example in the presence of well-developed diverticula arising from the lateral edges of the spermatheca in all three genera. The epigyne in Apricia, however, has a somewhat different pattern to either of the other genera. The copulatory openings open distally onto the surface without clear guides or a well-developed atrium (Fig. 29). In Holoplatys (Żabka 1991a, figs 25, 43, 50) there is a single atrium (sometimes partially subdivided) that varies in size from species to species. In Ocrisiona (Żabka 1990, fig. 3) there are two atria meeting in the midline and tapering anteriorly. The copulatory openings are placed at the distal apex of these. In Apricia the spermathecae approach both the midline and the epigastric fold whilst in Ocrisiona and Holoplatys they are placed distally and laterally on the outer edges of the atria. In male Ocrisiona and Holoplatys the broad base leading to the embolus folds behind the seminal reservoir, with the embolus being on the anterior side of the midline (Holoplatys: Żabka 1991a, fig. 2; Ocrisiona: Żabka 1990, figs 2, 6). In Apricia (Figs 26, 41, 59) the base and the embolus move in a distal direction, do not pass behind the seminal reservoir, and remain on the posterior side of the midline. In both Holoplatys and Ocrisiona the tegulum is as wide as, or wider than, its length and there is no proximal lobe while the opposite is true in the similarly sized Apricia.
Apricia can be distinguished from Clynotis by the reduction or loss of spines, for example on the femora, and the lower profile of the cephalothorax (compare Fig. 18 with Fig. 78). The morphology of the female genital tracts is different. Female genitalia include a diverticulum extending from the lateral side of each spermatheca in Apricia (Fig. 46) while instead there is a long thin diverticulum with a bulbous end arising from the median side of each insemination duct in Clynotis (Fig. 83). There is a second, short diverticulum on the anterior surface of each spermatheca in Apricia that leads from the spermathecae to the fertilization ducts. These open towards the median line. In Clynotis, a second very large diverticulum with a large bulbous end arises from the posterior edge of the spermatheca. The overall morphology of the palps in Clynotis severus are generally similar to that in Apricia, though the proximal lobe of the tegulum is smaller and on the posterior side in Clynotis (Fig. 81) and larger and on the anterior side in Apricia (Fig. 43).
Differences in the female genitalia also differentiate Apricia from Pungalina, in which there are no lateral diverticula, and the fertilization ducts arise directly, or through short diverticula, from the lower median edges of the spermathecae close to the epigastic fold (eg Fig. 130).
Maddison et al. (2008), on molecular evidence, placed Apricia jovialis near Holoplatys, while Clynotis was placed in a separate clade with Sandalodes. However, the latter molecular association with Sandalodes is now considered doubtful (W. Maddison, pers. com.).
Apricia bracteata is presently placed in Menemerus, but differs from M. semilimbatus, the type of that genus, and the pantropical species M. bivittatus in, for example, the complex structure of the insemination duct that includes a diverticulum and the distinct male conductors not seen in A. bracteata (compare Figs 40–48 with fig. 55 in Davies & Żabka 1989).
description: Published as part of Richardson, Barry J., 2016, New genera, new species and redescriptions of Australian jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae), pp. 501-560 in Zootaxa 4114 (5) on pages 507-508, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4114.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/271623