Marchena is a spider

Spider

Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...

 genus of the Salticidae family (jumping spiders). Its only described species, M. minuta, is only found in the USA. It dwells on the barks of conifers along the west coast, especially California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, Washington and Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

. Marchena is the only North American species of Heliophaninae.

It forms a monophyletic group with the genera Afraflacilla

Afraflacilla

Afraflacilla is a genus of the spider family Salticidae . Most pecies are distributed in Eastern to Northern Africa and Australia, with one species Afraflacilla is a genus of the spider family Salticidae (jumping spiders). Most pecies are distributed in Eastern to Northern Africa (including the...

, Pseudicius

Pseudicius

Pseudicius is a spider genus of the Salticidae family .-Relationships:The small genus Wesolowskana should possibly be included in this genus. There is some dispute whether Afraflacilla is a distinct genus or should be included in Pseudicius...

and Festucula

Festucula

Festucula is a genus of the spider family Salticidae .-Species:* Festucula festuculaeformis — Central, East, Southern Africa* Festucula lawrencei Lessert, 1933 — Angola, Tanzania...

.

Description

This species can easily be distinguished from others in its range by the tubercles on the first femur of its first legs. M. minuta has a body length of about 4 mm.

Name

The genus name is probably derived from the Spanish city of Marchena, Seville. As witnessed by other generic names, the describers had a habit of naming taxa after places unrelated to the species' distribution. The species name is Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

for "small, minute".

External links

• Awesome Spiders: Photographs of female and male
• Salticidae.org: Diagnostic drawings and distribution map of M. minuta