Thrandina
Encyclopedia
Thrandina is a genus of jumping spider
s, with the single species Thrandina parocula, which is found in Ecuador
. It is unique among New World
salticids in having strikingly large posterior median eyes.
Thrandina and its sister genus Galianora
share the ancestral salticid traits of a tarsal claw on the female palpus and a median apophysis
on the male palp. This is rare among neotropical salticids. Both genera are informally grouped as "lapsiines", together with Lapsias
. However, the shared basal
characteristics with Lapsias could be symplesiomorphic.
Males of this species are about 4 mm long. Its carapace is dark brown to black, except for a central pale longitudinal stripe on the thorax. The legs are pale to medium brown, with a darker femur I. The abdomen is medium brown with lighter chevrons above, and palew below with dark speckles. The female is slightly smaller with a bodylength of 3.6 mm. It looks like the male, but with more annulate legs.
Thrandina parocula was collected from moss-covered branches and tree-trunks in the understory of moist forests at elevations of 1,000 meters and higher, up to 2,270 m. Males walk fluid but hesitantly, frequently pausing and then raising and lowering.their first two pairs of legs in synchrony. A similar gait is observed in Spartaeinae
.
, the king of Mirkwood
elves in J.R.R. Tolkien's mythology, which, as Thrandina, inhabit shady forests, and andina, referring to the Andean
habitat.
The species name refers to the relatively equal sizes of the lateral and posterior eyes.
Jumping spider
The jumping spider family contains more than 500 described genera and about 5,000 described species, making it the largest family of spiders with about 13% of all species. Jumping spiders have some of the best vision among invertebrates and use it in courtship, hunting and navigation...
s, with the single species Thrandina parocula, which is found in Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. It is unique among New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
salticids in having strikingly large posterior median eyes.
Thrandina and its sister genus Galianora
Galianora
Galianora is a genus of jumping spiders.The two described species have quite a different body form: G. sacha is elongate and pale, with raptorial front legs, while G. bryicola is compact and brown. An as-yet undescribed species from Venezuela is intermediate in body form and palpus.-Name:The genus...
share the ancestral salticid traits of a tarsal claw on the female palpus and a median apophysis
Apophysis
Apophysis is an open source fractal flame editor and renderer for Microsoft Windows.Apophysis has many features for creating and editing fractal flames, including an editor which allows one to directly edit the transforms by manipulating triangles, a mutations window, which applies random edits to...
on the male palp. This is rare among neotropical salticids. Both genera are informally grouped as "lapsiines", together with Lapsias
Lapsias
Lapsias is a spider genus of the Salticidae family .-Phylogeny:Lapsias, Galianora and Thrandina are informally classified as "lapsiines". These are believed to be basal jumping spiders, outside the Salticoida...
. However, the shared basal
Basal (phylogenetics)
In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...
characteristics with Lapsias could be symplesiomorphic.
Males of this species are about 4 mm long. Its carapace is dark brown to black, except for a central pale longitudinal stripe on the thorax. The legs are pale to medium brown, with a darker femur I. The abdomen is medium brown with lighter chevrons above, and palew below with dark speckles. The female is slightly smaller with a bodylength of 3.6 mm. It looks like the male, but with more annulate legs.
Thrandina parocula was collected from moss-covered branches and tree-trunks in the understory of moist forests at elevations of 1,000 meters and higher, up to 2,270 m. Males walk fluid but hesitantly, frequently pausing and then raising and lowering.their first two pairs of legs in synchrony. A similar gait is observed in Spartaeinae
Spartaeinae
The Spartaeinae are a subfamily of the spider family Salticidae . It was established by Fred R. Wanless in 1984 to include the groups Boetheae, Cocaleae, Lineae, Codeteae and Cyrbeae, which in turn were defined by Eugène Simon....
.
Name
The genus is a contraction of ThranduilThranduil
Thranduil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is a supporting character in The Hobbit, and is referenced briefly in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.-In literature:...
, the king of Mirkwood
Mirkwood
Mirkwood is a name used for two distinct fictional forests in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. In the First Age, the highlands of Dorthonion north of Beleriand were known as Mirkwood after falling under Morgoth's control. During the Third Age, the large forest in Rhovanion, east of the Anduin in ...
elves in J.R.R. Tolkien's mythology, which, as Thrandina, inhabit shady forests, and andina, referring to the Andean
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
habitat.
The species name refers to the relatively equal sizes of the lateral and posterior eyes.
External links
- Video of walking male Thrandina parocula