Jumping spiders found commonly in Kerala taxonomically identified
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ochi: New technologies are aiding not just in the discovery and identification of new species but also in the re-evaluation of identified species by correcting their taxonomy.
In a new reassessment of its identification, the jumping spider's scientific name was taxonomically identified as
. These spiders are commonly found in Kerala.The specimen was discovered by CL Koch in 1846. Arachnologists carried out a comprehensive re-evaluation of E. flavocincta, establishing several new synonyms and significantly refining its taxonomic history. The research, now published in the international taxonomic journal Zootaxa, sheds new light on the species' identity and global distribution."We
found that three species — Evarcha pococki Żabka, 1985; Menemerus albocinctus Keyserling, 1890; and Salticus andamanius Tikader, 1977 — are one and the same.
So, we transferred them to E. flavocincta. Other names have been retained as synonyms. These were identified as exclusive to certain areas. But we confirmed records that these are seen in large parts of southeast Asia and India," said senior arachnologist Mathew M Joseph of Bharata Mata College, Kochi, who, along with first author John TD Caleb of Saveetha University, Chennai, conducted the re-evaluation.He said matching sexes proved challenging since these species were described based solely on either males or females, with no available information about their opposite sexes. The investigation revealed that the male and female forms of E. flavocincta were separately described under different names as distinct species under other unrelated genera like Menemerus and Salticus.They conducted detailed morphological examinations, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and comparative analyses of type specimens from multiple museum collections, to confirm these taxonomic changes. The researchers examined type specimens housed in institutions such as the National Zoological Collections (ZSI, Kolkata) and the Natural History Museum of Denmark and looked at key diagnostic features of both male and female specimens to validate the decision of retaining the names as synonyms.E. flavocincta emerges as a widely distributed species in India, Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan. They also made another breakthrough. Caleb and Joseph resolved a longstanding taxonomic uncertainty regarding the ant-mimicking jumping spider Myrmarachne calcuttaensis Biswas, 1984. Their research established that this species is a junior synonym of Myrmarachne melanocephala MacLeay, 1839. The study, recently published in the international journal Far Eastern Entomologist, was based on a thorough re-examination of the type specimen housed at the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata."This synonymisation is crucial for ensuring taxonomic clarity in Indian
, With 22 species of Myrmarachne recorded in India, it is imperative to validate old descriptions using modern techniques," said Caleb.
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