Research Article |
Corresponding author: John T. D. Caleb ( caleb87woodgate@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Danilo Harms
© 2023 John T. D. Caleb, Ayush Parag, Aniruddha Datta-Roy.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Caleb JTD, Parag A, Datta-Roy A (2023) A new species of the genus Siler Simon, 1889 (Araneae, Salticidae, Chrysillini) from India. Zoosystematics and Evolution 99(1): 209-216. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.99.99285
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A new chrysilline jumping spider species belonging to the genus Siler Simon, 1889 is described from Odisha, India. Detailed morphological descriptions, illustrations of the male palp and female genitalia and phylogenetic relationships of the new Siler species are presented. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that the new species is sister to a clade of predominantly Southeast Asian Siler species. Furthermore, the results indicate the presence of multiple cryptic species masquerading as S. semiglaucus sensu lato. We also briefly discuss some unique behavioural observations on the newly-described species.
Jumping spider, NISER, Odisha, phylogeny, species description, taxonomy
The chrysilline jumping spider genus Siler Simon, 1889 presently includes 11 described species distributed from southern to eastern Asia (
Specimens were hand collected and preserved in 70% ethanol. Images of live specimens were captured using a Nikon D500 camera with AF-S Micro Nikkor 60 mm macro lens. Morphological examination was carried out under a Leica SAPO stereomicroscope and photomicrographs were taken with a Leica MC190 HD camera and processed with the Leica Application Suite (LAS) version 4.13. The male left palp was detached and examined in detail and photographed. The temporary mount of the epigyne was studied under a Leica DM3000 LED compound microscope and photographed with a Leica MC190 HD camera. The line drawings were prepared using the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) (
For phylogenetic analysis, the total genomic DNA was extracted from a complete specimen (collected apart from the deposited type material), using a QiagenTM Blood and Tissue kit. A region of the mitochondrial CO-I was PCR amplified (see Table
Primer name | Thermocycler conditions | Reference |
---|---|---|
LCO-1490 (forward primer) | Initial denaturation: 94 °C, 3 min | Bork RJ (2015) Primer efficacy in the DNA barcoding of spiders. Honours Program Theses. 169. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/hpt/169 |
Denaturation: 94 °C, 30 s | ||
Annealing: 45 °C, 30 s | ||
Extension: 72 °C, 90 s | ||
Final extension: 72 °C, 7 min | ||
HCO-700ME (reverse primer) | Initial denaturation: 94 °C, 3 min | Bork RJ (2015) Primer efficacy in the DNA barcoding of spiders. Honours Program Theses. 169. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/hpt/169 |
Denaturation: 94 °C, 30 s | ||
Annealing: 45 °C, 30 s | ||
Extension: 72 °C, 90 s | ||
Final extension: 72 °C, 7 min |
The generated sequence was aligned with other Siler species (see Table
Abbreviations used in the text: AER – anterior eye row; ALE – anterior lateral eye; AME – anterior median eye; EFL – eye field length; PER – posterior eye row; PLE – posterior lateral eye; PME – posterior median eye; RTA – retrolateral tibial apophysis.
Siler cupreus Simon, 1889.
Holotype ♂ (ZSIC-I/SP 40) from India: Odisha, Bhubaneswar, Khordha, Jatani, NISER campus (20.16861°N, 85.68493°E), 46 m a.s.l., 06.v.2021, leg. A. Parag.
Paratypes : 4 ♀♀ (ZSIC-I/SP 41 to 44), data same as holotype, 05.v.2021.
The specific epithet is an acronym derived after the type locality, National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) campus from where the specimens were collected. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.
Glossy jumping spider.
Siler niser sp. nov. resembles Siler semiglaucus (Simon, 1901) in general morphology and colour pattern (cf. Fig.
Male
(based on holotype ZSI-I/SP-40, colouration in alcohol) (Fig.
Somatic and genital morphology of Siler niser sp. nov. A–F. Holotype male (ZSI-I/SP 40) A. Dorsal view; B. Ventral view; C. Lateral view; D. Front view; E. Left male palp, ventral view; F. Same, retrolateral view. G–L. Female paratype (ZSI-I/SP 41); G. Dorsal view; H. Ventral view; I. Lateral view; J. Front view; K. Epigyne, ventral view; L. Vulva, dorsal view. Scale bars: 2 mm (C, I); 1 mm (A, B, G, H, J); 0.5 mm (D); 0.2 mm (E, F, L); 0.1 mm (K).
Female
(ZSI-I/SP-41, colouration in alcohol) (Fig.
Total length of females ranges from 5.31 to 6.88 (n = 4).
Male. Carapace covered with a mixture of bluish and greenish scales; blue scales extending below the ALEs and running along the rim; lateral sides covered with a thick band of red scales (Fig.
Female. Carapace covered with white and grey scales; lateral margins covered with reddish scales; outer rim covered with bluish-white scales. Legs yellow-brown with longitudinal dark brown and white stripes. Abdomen greyish with a similar, but incomplete pattern as seen in male; a median transverse red band sandwiched between two blue bands; anterior blue band discontinuous medially, posterior band broad and continuous (Fig.
Specimens were found in acute vicinity of the ant Camponotus compressus. Individuals were myrmecophagic like Siler semiglaucus (confirmed through visual observations). Both sexes waved the first pair of legs in the air, perhaps mimicking the antennae of the ants (Fig.
The individuals of Siler niser sp. nov. were collected from a grassland-shrubland type habitat (Fig.
The best model of sequence evolution according to BIC was TRN+I+G. The obtained ML tree (Fig.
The new species was also morphologically different from all other congeners with a suite of morphological characters as described above. The members of the population we collected from Odisha State, India share characters like the body covered with iridescent scales, abdomen with transverse banding pattern and spots, tibia I in males with typical dense bottle brush-like setae, male palp with elongated bulbus and flattened, spatulate RTA, female with simple rounded epigyne and short copulatory ducts (
We used multiple lines of evidence to establish the newly-found population as a new species. The morphological diagnosis provides clear evidence for the distinction of this new population of Siler species. Given the known distribution of jumping spiders of the genus Siler, we expected a sister relationship between our new species and the only known congener from India – Siler semiglaucus. Surprisingly, our phylogenetic analysis retrieved S. niser sp. nov. as sister to a clade containing the Southeast Asian lineages namely – S. collingwoodi, S. cupreus and S. ruber. We included two published sequences of S. semiglaucus (Specimen KY888770 from Sri Lanka, Specimen 392837 from India) (
The behaviour of individuals of S. niser sp. nov. is especially intriguing. Both sexes bob their abdomens and wave their front pair of legs to produce a type of behaviour termed as “antennal illusion”. This type of behaviour is commonly observed in various species of ant-mimicking spiders (
We are grateful to Dr K.A. Subramanian, Officer-in-Charge, SRC, ZSI for kindly allowing JC to use the microscope facility. Thanks to Mr. Shubhang Srikanth Acharya (NISER Bhubaneswar) for the help and support during the fieldwork. ADR and AP thank the Department of Atomic Energy and NISER Bhubaneswar for their facilities and support. We thank the subject editor Dr Danilo Harms (Germany) and the reviewers Dr Dmitri V. Logunov (UK), Dr Galina N. Azarkina (Russia) and Dr Suresh P. Benjamin (Sri Lanka) for their constructive comments and suggestions which improved the manuscript.