Sonoita cf. lightfooti G.W. Peckham & E.G. Peckham, 1903

Caleb, John T. D., Sudhin, Puthoor Pattammal, Nisha, B. G., Maliye, Chinmay C., Sanap, Rajesh V., Kadam, Gautam & Sen, Souvik, 2025, Novel additions to the jumping spider subfamily Spartaeinae Wanless, 1984 from India (Araneae, Salticidae, Spartaeini), European Journal of Taxonomy 997, pp. 77-98 : 79-82

Sonoita cf. lightfooti G.W. Peckham & E.G. Peckham, 1903

Figs 1–3 , 12

Diagnosis

See Wanless (1985) and Wesołowska & Russell-Smith (2022).

Material examined

INDIA – Karnataka • 1 ♂; Tumkuru, Halekote near Deverayandurga Hill ; 13.3845° N, 77.2070° E; 871 m a.s.l.; 10 Jul. 2023; B.G. Nisha leg.; ZSI-SRC - I/SP 47 • 1 ♂; Bengaluru, National Centre for Biological Sciences campus ; 13.0721° N, 77.5802° E; 952 m a.s.l.; 26 Jul. 2016; Rajesh Sanap leg.; NCBS-AA-8992 .

Description

Male (ZSI-SRC-I/SP 47; Figs 1–3 )

GENERAL MORPHOLOGY. Carapace brown, clothed with fine pale hairs ( Figs 1A , 2A ). Eyes surrounded by black regions; anterior eyes surrounded by white orbital setae ( Figs 1B–C , 2C ). Chelicerae yellow-brown. Sternum oval, yellow-brown; labium and maxillae brown, apical portion of labium and inner portion of maxillae paler ( Fig. 2B ). Clypeus brown ( Fig. 2C ). Abdomen oval, brown, mid-dorsal region yellow-brown; posterior half with pairs of lateral white setae; posterior region with chevron-shaped brown markings ( Fig. 2A ); venter brown with light brown spots arranged longitudinally ( Fig. 2B ). Spinnerets yellow-brown. Leg I with leaf-like setae arranged on ventral region of femora, patellae and tibiae, those under tibiae dense and longer than those under femora, metatarsi I and tarsi I covered with white setae; legs II–IV yellow-brown with brown annulations; metatarsi and tarsi II–IV yellow, covered with white hairs ( Fig. 2A–D ).

MEASUREMENTS. Body length 3.12; carapace length 1.45, width 1.26; abdomen length 1.67, width 1.05. Eye measurements and inter-distances: AME 0.29, ALE 0.15, PME 0.11, PLE 0.16. AER 0.98, EFL 0.83, PER 1.06, AME–AME 0.03, AME–ALE 0.04, ALE–ALE 0.70, ALE–PLE 0.59, PLE–PLE 0.87, PME– PME 0.79, PME–PLE 0.31. Clypeus height 0.03. Length of chelicera 0.31. Measurement of legs: leg I 3.10 [0.96, 0.52, 0.73, 0.53, 0.36], II 2.76 [0.86, 0.46, 0.58, 0.50, 0.36], III 2.78 [0.94, 0.38, 0.57, 0.54, 0.35], IV 3.63 [1.07, 0.53, 0.76, 0.86, 0.41]. Leg formula: 4132.

COPULATORY ORGAN ( Figs 2E–H , 3A–B ). Palp yellow-brown; tibia and cymbium clothed with white hairs; apical portion of cymbium with black hairs; RTA flattened, spatula-like; bulbus with a median apophysis along retrolateral side; embolus long and slender, originates from 6 o’clock position, runs along prolateral side with tip hidden behind functional conductor ( Figs 2E–H , 3A–B ).

Distribution

Africa ( WSC 2025), India (Karnataka) ( Fig. 12 ).

Figures

Fig. 1. Sonoita cf. lightfooti G.W. Peckham & E.G. Peckham, 1903, ♂ (ZSI-SRC-I/SP 47). A. Dorsal view. B–C. Front view. Photo credits: B.G. Nisha.

Fig. 2. Sonoita cf. lightfooti G.W. Peckham & E.G. Peckham, 1903, ♂ (ZSI-SRC-I/SP 47). A. Habitus, dorsal view. B. Same, ventral view. C. Same, front view. D. Left leg I, prolateral view. E. Left palp, dorsal view. F. Same, prolateral view. G. Same, ventral view. H. Same, retrolateral view. Scale bars: A–B = 1 mm; C–D = 0.5 mm; E–H = 0.2 mm.

Fig. 3. Sonoita cf. lightfooti G.W. Peckham & E.G. Peckham, 1903, ♂ (ZSI-SRC-I/SP 47). A. Left palp, ventral view. B. Same, retrolateral view. Scale bars = 0.2 mm.

Fig. 12. Distribution map of the species treated in this study.