Jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) of the Ndumo Game Reserve, Maputaland, South Africa Author Wesolowska, Wanda Author Haddad, Charles R. text African Invertebrates 2009 2009-06-30 50 1 13 103 journal article 2305-2562 Nigorella plebeja (L. Koch, 1875 ) Figs 127–131 , 220 Euophrys plebeja : L. Koch 1875: 90 , pl. 7, fig. 9. Pachypoessa albimana : Simon 1902 b : 399 . Philaeus manicus : Peckham & Peckham, 1903: 205 , pl. 24, fig. 1. Pachypoessa plebeja : Prószyński 1987: 71–72 . Nigorella plebeja : Wesolowska & Tomasiewicz 2008: 35 . Redescription: Measurements (male/female): Carapace length 3.5–3.7/4.4–4.7, width 2.8–3.0/3.1–3.6, height 1.2–1.5/1.7–1.8. Abdomen length 3.4–3.9/6.4–6.6, width 2.1–2.4/4.2–4.7. Eye field length 1.3–1.4/1.6, anterior width 2.0–2.1/2.1–2.3, posterior width 2.1–2.2/2.4– 2.7. Male. General appearance in Fig. 220 . Medium-sized, dark, hairy spider; carapace oval, medium high, gently sloping posteriorly, dark brown; eye field short, black; fovea visible; dark, short hairs densely cover carapace, with numerous long bristles near eyes; clypeus low, dark, with black hairs. Chelicerae large, black, unidentate; endites and labium dark brown with narrow whitish margins.Abdomen narrower than carapace, dark brown with traces of lighter patches medially; dense long dark hairs on abdomen; venter dark, with four longitudinal lines composed of yellowish dots; spinnerets dark. Legs dark brown; first pair of legs slightly stouter than others, with dark scopulae on tarsi; leg hairs long, dark brown. Pedipalp dark; tibial apophysis straight, tegulum rounded, with small anterior haematodocha ( Figs 127, 128 ); embolus short, enveloped by tegular apophysis ( Fig. 129 ). Female. Larger than male. General colouration dark brown to black, vicinity of fovea slightly lighter; whole body covered with short, dark hairs; clypeus with few white hairs; three parallel lighter bands on ‘cheeks’, below anterior lateral eyes. Labium with narrow white tip, endites with wide pale inner margins. Abdomen broader than carapace, brownish grey, pattern formed by a patchwork of small dark patches; venter dark, with four longitudinal lines formed with light dots. Epigyne strongly sclerotised, with two widely spaced rounded depressions and broad posterior pocket ( Fig. 130 ); internal structure simple, initial part of seminal ducts with very thick walls ( Fig. 131 ). Figs 127–131. Nigorella plebeja : (127) palpal organ, ventral view; (128) palpal organ, lateral view; (129) embolic division, ventrolateral view; (130) epigyne; (131) internal structure of epigyne. Material examined: 1^Crocodile Farm, Pongola R . floodplain, 26 ° 54.426'S : 32 ° 19.185'E , A. xanthophloea bark, 6.vii.2004 ( NMSA 21875 ) ; 1^Near Fontana Camp, 26 ° 52.072'S : 32 ° 09.545'E , A. tortilis savannah, leaf litter, 8.vii.2004 ( NCA 2008 /2743); 1ơ Near Environmental Centre , 26 ° 55.275'S : 32 ° 17.947'E , broadleaf savannah, leaf litter, 6.ii.2005 ( NCA 2008 /2744); 1ơ Northern shore of Nyamiti Pan, 26 ° 53.192'S : 32 ° 18.272'E , under logs, 7.vii.2002 ( NCA 2008 /2745) . Distribution: Species known from the Democratic Republic of the Congo ; recorded for the first time from South Africa . Habitat and biology: This species was collected from the ground in leaf litter or under logs, and on one occasion from under bark, in AS , AX, BW and FP. Remarks: The species is very similar to N. aethiopica Wesolowska & Tomasiewicz, 2008 , but is smaller; the male differs by the shape of the tibial apophysis, which is longer and has a single tip (bifid in N. aethiopica ), and the female epigyne has a strongly sclerotised initial part of the seminal ducts (compare Figs 128 and 131 herein with figs 134 and 142 in Wesolowska & Tomasiewicz 2008).