ON THE SYNONYMY OF MYRMARACHNE CALCUTTAENSIS BISWAS, 1984 (ARANEAE: SALTICIDAE)

Far Eastern Entomologist Number 521: 21-24 ISSN 1026-051X (print edition) ISSN 2713-2196 (online edition) April 2025 https://doi.org/10.25221/fee.521.3 https://elibrary.ru/zjhfha https://zoobank.org/References/51384793-3466-43D5-8145-97DDB7FA789C ON THE SYNONYMY OF MYRMARACHNE CALCUTTAENSIS BISWAS, 1984 (ARANEAE: SALTICIDAE) J. T. D. Caleb1*), M. M. Joseph2) 1) Department of Anatomy, Saveetha Medical College & Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai 602105, Tamil Nadu, India. *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] 2) Centre for Arachnology Research, School of Science, Bharata Mata College (Autonomous), Seaport-Airport Road, Thrikkakara, Kochi 682021, Kerala, India. Summary. The type material of Myrmarachne calcuttaensis Biswas, 1984 kept at the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, has been studied. M. calcuttaensis syn. n. is recognized as a junior synonym of M. melanocephala MacLeay, 1839. Key words: jumping spiders, taxonomy, type specimen, new synonymy, India. Дж. Т. Д. Калеб, М. М. Джозеф. К синонимии Myrmarachne calcuttaensis Biswas, 1984 (Araneae: Salticidae) // Дальневосточный энтомолог. 2025. N 521. С. 21-24. Резюме. Изучен типовой материал паука Myrmarachne calcuttaensis Biswas, 1984, хранящийся в Зоологической службе Индии, Калькутта. Установлено, что M. calcuttaensis syn. n. является младшим синонимом M. melanocephala MacLeay, 1839. INTRODUCTION The ant-mimicking jumping spider genus Myrmarachne was established by MacLeay (1839), with M. melanocephala MacLeay, 1839 designated as its type species. Presently, the genus encompasses 192 species worldwide (World Spider Catalog, 2025). In India, 22 species have been documented (Caleb & Sankaran, 2025), though only a few have undergone modern taxonomic treatment (Benjamin, 2015; Caleb, 2016; Caleb & Benjamin, 2017; Tripathi et al., 2023). Despite its richness, much of the genus remains poorly studied (Caleb, 2016), with two Indian species recently classified as nomina dubia (Sherwood & Caleb, 2024). The present study seeks to resolve the taxonomic ambiguity surrounding Myrmarachne calcuttaensis Biswas, 1984, originally described from East India. MATERIAL AND METHODS Specimens were examined and imaged by a Leica DFC500 HD camera attached to a Leica M205 A stereomicroscope equipped with Leica Application Suite (LAS) version 3.8. The studied material is kept in the National Zoological Collections, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India (NZC-ZSI). 21 TAXONOMY Family Salticidae Blackwall, 1841 Genus Myrmarachne MacLeay, 1839 Myrmarachne melanocephala MacLeay, 1839 Figs 1–7 Myrmarachne melanocephala MacLeay, 1839: 11, pl. 1, fig. 4 (D♂); Benjamin, 2015: 2625, figs 17A-D, 18A-D, 19A-D (♂); Caleb, 2016: 410, figs 20-30 (♂♀). Myrmarachne calcuttaensis Biswas, 1984: 126, figs 17-19 (D♀); holotype ♀ in NZCZSI, examined; syn. n. TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED. Myrmarachne calcuttaensis Biswas, 1984: Holotype ♀ (NZC-ZSI-5119/18) from India: West Bengal, Kolkata (=Calcutta), Alipore, Zoological Garden, 04.I 1982, coll. Bijan Biswas. Figs 1–7. Myrmarachne calcuttaensis Biswas, 1984, syn. n. (=Myrmarachne melanocephala MacLeay, 1839). 1 – holotype female habitus, dorsal view; 2 – the same, ventral view; 3 – the same, lateral view; 4 – additional females from type locality, dorsal view; 5 – epigyne of larger female, ventral view; 6 – epigyne of smaller female, ventral view; 7 – labels. Scale bars: (1–4) 1 mm, (5–6) 0.2 mm. 22 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL EXAMINED. India: Kerala, Alappuzha, Changaram near Ezhupunna, 9.7966 N, 76.2958 E, h=04 m, 20.VIII 2024, 1 ♀ (BMCAM2024014), coll. Anitha Abraham, from ground, by hand. COMMENTS. Biswas (1984) described Myrmarachne calcuttaensis from Alipore, Kolkata, West Bengal, India, based on a holotype female. The description was accompanied by schematic illustrations of the epigyne and internal genitalia (Biswas, 1984: figs 18 & 19). Upon re-examination of the holotype (Figs 1–3), we discovered that the dissected epigyne was missing. However, two additional female specimens (Fig. 4), collected from the same location and labelled as "paratypes" (Fig. 7), were found alongside the holotype. Notably, these specimens were not designated as paratypes in the original description. A detailed examination of these specimens revealed that their general morphology and genitalic structure are identical to those of M. melanocephala MacLeay, 1839: epigyne with a pair of oval copulatory openings, twisted copulatory ducts, and lateral pockets positioned above the epigastric furrow (cf. Figs 1–6 and figs 17–19 in Biswas (1984) with figs 3B–D & 5 in Edwards & Benjamin (2009) and figs 26–30 in Caleb (2016)), clearly indicate that M. calcuttaensis is a junior synonym of M. melanocephala. Furthermore, both M. melanocephala and M. calcuttaensis were originally described from Bengal, a region corresponding to present-day West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh, further substantiating their conspecificity. REMARK. For a complete list of taxonomic references see World Spider Catalog (2025). DISTRIBUTION. Pakistan to Indonesia (World Spider Catalog, 2025). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are grateful to Dr Kailash Chandra, former Director of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata for allowing the examination of types. The second author is indebted to Bharata Mata College, Thrikkakara, Kochi, Kerala, India for institutional support. The constructive suggestions of the editor and reviewers refined the manuscript greatly. REFERENCES Benjamin, S.P. 2015. Model mimics: antlike jumping spiders of the genus Myrmarachne from Sri Lanka. Journal of Natural History, 49(43–44): 2609–2666. Biswas, B. 1984. Description of six new species of spiders of the families Clubionidae, Gnaphosidae and Salticidae from India. Bulletin of the Zoological Survey of India, 6: 119–127. Caleb, J.T.D. 2016. Taxonomic notes on some ant-mimicking jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) from India. Arthropoda Selecta, 25(4): 403–420. Caleb, J.T.D. & Benjamin, S.P. 2017. On the type of Myrmarachne uniseriata Narayan, 1915 (Araneae: Salticidae), with notes on its synonymy. Arachnology, 17(6): 294–296. Caleb, J.T.D. & Sankaran P.M. 2025. Araneae of India. Version 2025. Available at: http:// www.indianspiders.in (accessed on 13 March 2025). Edwards, G.B. & Benjamin, S.P. 2009. A first look at the phylogeny of the Myrmarachninae, with rediscovery and redescription of the type species of Myrmarachne (Araneae: Salticidae). Zootaxa, 2309: 1–29. MacLeay, W.S. 1839. On some new forms of Arachnida. Annals of Natural History, 2(7): 1– 14, pl. 1–2. Sherwood, D. & Caleb, J.T.D. 2024. On ten unavailable and thirty-four dubious names for spiders (Araneae) from India. Revista Ibérica de Aracnología, 44: 113–118. 23 Tripathi, R., Jose, A., Nafin, K.S., Babu, N. & Sudhikumar, A.V. 2023. The first description of the female of Myrmarachne uniseriata Narayan, 1915 and the first report of Myrmarachne spissa (G.W. Peckham & E.G. Peckham, 1892) from India. Peckhamia, 289.1: 1–10. World Spider Catalog 2025. World Spider Catalog. Version 26. Natural History Museum Bern. Available at: http://wsc.nmbe.ch (accessed on 13 March 2025). __________________________________________________________________  Far Eastern entomologist (Far East. entomol.) Journal published since October 1994. Editor-in-Chief: S.Yu. Storozhenko Editorial Board: A.S. Lelej, S.A. Belokobylskij, M.G. Ponomarenko, V.A. Mutin, E.A. Beljaev, E.A. Makarchenko, A.V. Gorochov, T.M. Tiunova, M.Yu. Proshchalykin, S.A. Shabalin, V.M. Loktionov Address: Federal Scientific Center of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity (former Institute of Biology and Soil Science), Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 690022, Vladivostok-22, Russia. E-mail: [email protected] web-site: http://www.biosoil.ru/fee