Rediscovery of <I>Dexippus kleini</I> Thorell 1891 (Araneae: Salticidae: Plexippini) after 129 years and its first record from India

Abstract

Dexippus Thorell 1891 is a small Oriental jumping spider genus monotypically erected with Dexippus kleini Thorell 1891 as its type species. It comprises only four species: D. kleini Thorell 1891 (Indonesia), D. pengi Wang & Li 2020 (Yunnan, China), D. taiwanensis Peng & Li 2002 (Taiwan) and D. topali Prószyński 1992 (India) World Spider Catalog 2021 and all are known from their corresponding type localities only. Maddison (2015) placed Dexippus within the subtribe Plexippina under the tribe Plexippini of the subfamily Salticinae.D. kleini was originally described on the basis of the male sex from Aceh province (formerly known as Atjeh) located on the northern region of Sumatra Island in Indonesia. There are no records of the species since its original description apart from the illustrations of the holotype by Prószyński (1984). The male of this species is larger (7 mm) in comparison to its congeners which measure about 5-6 mm in body length, and possesses a narrower elongated abdomen with distinct whitish silver markings on dorsum bordered by two blackish longitudinal markings that distinguish it from its congeners. This paper aims to report the rediscovery of D. kleini after 129 years and its first record from Assam, India, about 2600 km away from its type locality. Material and MethodsCollected specimens were preserved in 70% ethanol and were later examined under a Leica EZ4 HD stereomicroscope. Detailed photographs were obtained using a Leica M205A stereomicroscope equipped with a Leica DFC500 HD camera, enabled with a Leica Application Suite (LAS) version 3.8. The species was identified based on illustrations of the type provided by Prószyński (1984) and digital images of the type available from the website of Natural History Museum of Denmark (http://www.daim.snm.ku.dk/The-digitized-type-collection). All measurements are in millimeters (mm). The studied specimen is deposited in National Zoological Collections, Zoological Survey of India (NZC-ZSI), Chennai.

A new species of Pancorius Simon, 1902 (Araneae: Salticidae) from the Western Ghats, India

“…However, extensive surveys are required to analyse patterns of species distribution across India. Nevertheless, the last decade saw the discovery of several new salticid species and genera from India (Caleb 2019: 2; Basumatary et al . 2021: 37).…”