Saaristattus Dmitri V. Logunov & Galina N. Azarkina 2008, Saaristattus gen.n.
Creators: name: Dmitri V. Logunov
name: Galina N. Azarkina
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2008
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Salticidae
Saaristattus

description: Saaristattus gen.n.
Type species: Saaristattus tropicus sp.n.
ETHYMOLOGY.The generic name consists of two parts: ̒ Saarist ̓ deriving from the name Saaristo, and ̒ attus ̓ meaning ̒jumper̓; gender masculine. The genus is dedicated to our colleague and friend, Dr Michael Saaristo (Turku, Finland), a famous arachnologist, in recognition of his works on spiders.
DIAGNOSIS. From all the euophryines, Saaristattus gen.n. differs in having the seven-cusped retromarginal tooth (Fig. 13), the well-developed cymbial pocket, in which the embolus is hidden, the median apophysis (arrowed in Figs 10 ­11), the strongly convoluted embolus (three and a half coils; Fig. 12) and spermathecae (Fig. 15), and the epigynal plate with no median septum and epigynal pocket (Fig. 14).
DESCRIPTION. As for the type species, see below.
COMMENTS. Saaristattus gen.n. is a fissidentate salticid, with three small promarginal and a wide retromarginal tooth resembling a comb of seven points (Fig. 13). Such the seven-cusped retromarginal tooth is rare (if not unique) in the Salticidae. For instance, to date the largest number of tooth points (six cusps!) have been known in Bindax Thorell, 1892 ƖPrószy ṅski, 1987: p. 25] and Aruana Strand, 1911 ƖPrószy ṅski, 1984: p. 2].
The genus seems to belong to the subfamily Euophryinae. By the conformation of the copulatory organs (particularly, by the long and spiral insemination ducts), Saaristattus gen.n. is most similar to Cytaea Keyserling, 1882 Ɩsee Davies & Żabka, 1989: plate 30; Prószyṅski, 1984: pp. 27­ 31] and Emathis Simon, 1899 Ɩsee Żabka, 1985: figs 106­ 107; Prószyṅski, 1984: p. 37], but differs from both by the presence of the cymbial pocket, the median apophysis, and the risen embolar disk Ɩ sensu Edwards, 2002] (Fig. 12); at rest, the embolar disk is hidden in the cymbial pocket. Some species of Xenocytaea Berry, Beatty et Prószyṅski, 1998, e.g. X̹ anomala Berry, Beatty et Prószyṅski, 1998 Ɩsee Berry et al., 1998: figs 116­121], possess the coiled embolus and spermathecae, but both are not as strongly coiled as those in Saaristattus gen.n. The twist of three and a half coils is not very common in Salticidae. For instance, it has been described for some genera of the Ballinae Ɩsee Benjamin, 2004].
Many of the Euophryinae genera possess the embolus partly hidden by its basal part in the apical cavity of the tegulum, e.g. Servea Simon, 1888 Ɩsee Davies & Żabka, 1989: plate 30], Pseudeuophrys Dahl, 1912 Ɩsee Logunov, 1998: figs 5, 25­30] and others, but none of them apart from Saaristattus gen.n. displays a properly developed cymbial pocket. With regards to the conformation of the male palp of the Euophryinae, three main modifications of the embolus position have been described ƖEdwards, 2002]: (1) the entire embolus is situated on the repro-lateral side of the tegulum; (2) the embolus is on the distal end, perpendicular to the tegulum; and (3) the embolus is partly hidden in the apical cavity of the tegulum. Thus, the conformation of the male palp of Saaristattus gen.n., when the embolus is completely hidden in the cymbial pocket, clearly represents the forth distinct modification for the Euophryinae.
The cymbium pocket is known to be a characteristic feature of the subfamily Aelurillinae, and exists in two modifications: open (e.g., in Proszynskiana Logunov, 1996) and closed (in the rest of Aelurillinae) Ɩsee Logunov, 1996]. Surprisingly, Saaristattus gen.n. possess the more advanced and fully-developed closed cymbial pocket, which is however formed not by just the tegulum and the cymbium, as in Aelurillus Simon, 1884 or Phlegra Simon, 1876 ƖLogunov, 1996: fig. 4], but by the tegulum, the median apophysis and the cymbium (Figs 10 ­11). It is a unique feature among all the jumping spider genera known to us.
Yet the nomenclature of the median apophysis (arrowed in Figs 10 ­11) requires a further study. In its classical definition ƖComstock, 1910: p. 176], the median apophysis is ̒a conspicuous appendage, which projects from the ventral sides of the bulb̓ Ɩsee also Merrett, 1963: fig. 1], and it is just the case of Saaristattus gen.n. The presence of the median apophysis has been considered a plesiomorphic trait in Salticidae, e.g. for the subfamily Lyssomaninae ƖWanless, 1980] or more recently for the ̒lapsiines̓ ƖMaddison, 2006]. Yet, the knowledge on the detailed structure of male palp in Salticidae remains too fragmentary, and hence we are not sure if the median apophysis of Lyssomanes Hentz, 1845 ƖGaliano, 1962: fig. 1] or Lapsias Simon, 1900 ƖMaddison, 2006: fig. 1] is homologous with that of Saaristattus gen.n. Moreover, the sclerite called here as ̒the median apophysis̓ is unknown in the rest of Euophryinae, and therefore its presence leaves some doubts that the new genus is indeed a member of the subfamily. At the current state of knowledge of the Salticidae, we cannot resolve this problem now.
COMPOSITION. The type species only.
description: Published as part of Dmitri V. Logunov & Galina N. Azarkina, 2008, Two new genera and species of Euophryinae (Aranei: Salticidae) from SE Asia, pp. 111-115 in Arthropoda Selecta 17 (1 - 2) on pages 112-113, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10880117