New data on jumping spiders of the subfamily Spartaeinae (Araneae, Salticidae) from New Guinea, with the description of a new species

Abstract

We describe a new species of Gelotia Thorell, 1890, Gelotia korowaisp. nov., which is the first Gelotia species from the island of New Guinea. New records for four Cocalodes species—C. innotabilis Wanless, 1982; C. macellus (Thorell, 1878); C. papuanus Simon, 1900, and C. thoracicus Szombathy, 1915­—are presented, and the specimens are illustrated. Lectotypes for C. plebejus Szombathy, 1915 and C. thoracicus are also designated. With 49 original images and a distribution map.

Introduction

Jumping spiders are the most diverse spider family, containing an eighth of all spider species (World Spider Catalog 2026). Studies on the taxonomy of jumping spiders are increasing, and 1,200 species have been described in the past decade, with most (846 spp.) in the past five years (World Spider Catalog 2026).

Recently, Zhang et al. (2024) resolved the phylogenetic placement of Eupoinae (Araneae, Salticidae), which was the last remaining puzzle among higher-level relationships of the subfamilies of Salticidae. Thus, the family is now divided into two main groups. Group 1 contains the subfamilies Salticinae, Onomastinae and Hisponinae, and group 2 contains the subfamilies Spartaeinae, Lyssomaninae, Asemoninae and Eupoinae (Zhang et al. 2024; Ni et al. 2025b). The subfamily Salticinae contains about 93% of the jumping spider diversity (Maddison 2015). Not surprisingly, most new species described are from this group.

The other subfamilies together, often called “basal salticids”, are less speciose than Salticinae. The largest among them, Spartaeinae, contains 224 species in 32 genera. This is ever increasing, as Maddison (2015) reported only 165 species in 29 genera, and this increase in the number of species over a decade is significant. However, only four new genera were described during this time: Amilaps Maddison, 2019; Waymadda Szűts, Zhang, Gallé-Szpisjak & De Bakker, 2020; Calxattus Wang, Yu & Zhang, 2023; and Protaeus Ni, Yu & Zhang, 2025. Within Spartaeinae, three tribes have been classified (Maddison 2015), each with a limited distribution: Spartaeini is mostly found in Africa and Asia, with only a few species in Australasia and Europe (Maddison 2015; Metzner 2026); Cocalodini occurs in Australasia (Maddison 2015; Metzner 2026); and Lapsiini is restricted to the New World (Maddison 2015; Metzner 2026). The tribe Spartaeini was divided into two subtribes, Spartaeina (having the tegular furrow) and Holcolaetina (lacking the tegular furrow and possessing a median apophysis and a conductor). However, Calxattus, which lacks the tegular furrow and possesses a conductor, has been placed in Spartaeina (by phylogenomic analyses of Ni et al. 2025b, which renders Holcolaetina paraphyletic and, thus, makes division of subtribes problematic; W. Maddison pers. comm.).

While Spartaeini is restricted to the tropics and subtropics of the Old World (Maddison 2015), Cocalodini is strictly Australasian (east of the Wallace Line) and has no clear morphological evidence for monophyly. Molecular data suggest that the Cocalodini are monophyletic, and the subtribe contains the only salticids with a median apophysis east of the Wallace Line (Maddison et al. 2014; Maddison 2015). Cocalodini are common components of New Guinea fauna (Maddison and Zhang 2011; Maddison 2015), with the greatest diversity on the island (Maddison 2009). Before 2008, only two genera and 14 species were known from the tribe, but during the Upper Strickland Expedition, three new genera and six new species were discovered in New Guinea (Maddison 2009). Eleven years later, a fourth genus in the tribe was discovered (Szűts et al. 2020) from Mount Wilhelm, showing that the diversity of the tribe is still underestimated.

In the last decade, no new species have been described from eight genera of Spartaeini, probably due to insufficient exploration of areas like New Guinea, China, and Malaysia (Ni et al. 2025a). In genera such as Gelotia or Portia, almost half of species are known from a single sex and/or a few specimens (World Spider Catalog 2026). This is likely due to their cryptic appearance (Ni et al. 2025a). The same is true for species of Cocalodes in the tribe Cocalodini; all species of this genus were primarily described with limited data from the late 20^th century, including a few from the early 1980s (World Spider Catalog 2026) with many descriptions based only on a few drawings and images (Metzner 2026).

In this study, we add to the knowledge of Spartaenini and Cocalodini and describe Gelotia korowai sp. nov. from mainland New Guinea, which is the first species of the genus recorded from the island. We also present digital images and new data for four previously described Cocalodes species: C. innotabilis Wanless, 1982; C. macellus Thorell, 1878; C. papuanus Simon, 1900, and C. thoracicus Szombathy, 1915. We also figure the type series and designate lectotypes for C. thoracicus and C. plebejus Szombathy, 1915.

Materials and methods

Types of Gelotia korowai are deposited in the Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawai‘i, USA. (curator: Adrienne Antonsen). Cocalodes specimens are deposited in the Soil Zoology Collections, Hungarian Natural History Museum (curator: Edit Horváth). Specimens were kept in 70% alcohol and were observed under stereomicroscopes. Images were obtained with a Tucsen MiChrome and a Tucsen TreuChrome metrics camera attached to a Nikon SMZ800, a Nikon SMZ1000 and a Nikon Eclipse E200 microscope. Mosaic v. 2.4 (Tucsen Photonics 2022) was used to capture stack images, which were combined into a single multifocal image with Helicon Focus v. 8. Male palps and female genitalia were dissected from the bodies and independently photographed. Female genitalia were placed in methyl-salicylate to make sclerotized parts more transparent (Szűts et al. 2020). Male palps were submerged and photographed in hand sanitizer.

Terminology for Gelotia follows Patoleta and Żabka (2020). Leg spination terminology follows Ono (1988). All measurements are given in millimetres. All colour references are from alcohol-preserved specimens. Measurements were obtained with ImageJ v. 1.53t (Schneider et al. 2012). Total length was measured from the anterior margin of the prosoma to the posterior margin of the opisthosoma. Measurements of carapace length were taken from the anterior margin to the posterior margin of the prosoma.

Abbreviations

AMNH American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA;

BM Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI, USA;

FS Senckenberg Nature Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany;

HNHM Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary;

MCSN Museo Civico di Storia Naturale “Giacomo Doria”, Genoa, Italy;

MNHN Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France;

RTA retrolateral tibial apophysis;

adt anterodorsal tubercle (sensu Wanless 1984);

dta dorsal tibial apophysis (sensu Patoleta and Żabka 2020);

vta ventral tibial apophysis (sensu Patoleta and Żabka 2020);

dco dorsal cymbial outgrowth (sensu Patoleta and Żabka 2020);

pco prolateral cymbial outgrowth (sensu Patoleta and Żabka 2020);

rco retrolateral cymbial outgrowth (sensu Patoleta and Żabka 2020);

Fe femur;

Pa patella;

Ti tibia;

Mt metatarsus;

ap apical;

d dorsal;

pr prolateral;

rt retrolateral;

v ventral.

Results

Taxonomy

Tribe Spartaeini Wanless, 1984

Genus. Gelotia

Thorell, 1890

24C0D8DA-74A5-5707-B323-9E71A9D9E390

Type species.

Gelotia frenata Thorell, 1890 by subsequent designation (Thorell 1892).

Diagnosis

(modified from Wanless 1984). Medium-sized spartaeines; highest point of carapace around PLEs (Fig. 2A–C). Male palpal bulb with apical lobe-like part (Fig. 3A–D) from where inward curving embolus originates (Fig. 3A, B). Male palpal tibia with a large retrolateral apophysis (RTA); RTA with thick base and thin apical lamellar part, giving a cap-like appearance to apophysis in ventral and dorsal aspects (Fig. 3A–E; Wanless 1984: figs 17D, 18D, F, 19D, F, 20C, I). Epigyne with thin median ridge (Fig. 4A, Wanless 1984: figs 16F, 17C) and relatively thick copulatory duct (these were interpreted, probably incorrectly, by Wanless (1984: fig. 21C) as a second pair of spermathecae).

Figure 2.

Gelotia korowai sp. nov., habitus. A. Holotype male, lateral view; B. Ibid., fronto-lateral view; C. Paratype female, lateral view; D. Ibid., fronto-lateral view; E. Ibid., frontal view. Scale bars: 2.0 mm.

Figure 3.

Gelotia korowai sp. nov., male palp. A, E, G, H. Holotype male; B–D, F. Paratype male; A, B. Ventral view; C, D. Latero-apical view; E. Dorsal view; F, G. Prolateral view; H. Retrolateral view. Abbreviations: adt: anteriodorsal tubercle, dco: dorsal cymbial process, pco: prolateral cymbial process, rco: retrolateral cymbial process, vta: ventral tibial apophysis. Scale bar: 0.4 mm.

Figure 4.

Gelotia korowai sp. nov., female copulatory organ. A. Intact epigyne, ventral view; B. Cleared epigyne, dorsal view; C. Vulva in methyl-salicylate, ventral view; D. Ibid., dorsal view. Scale bar: 0.4 mm.

Description.

For a detailed description, see Wanless (1984).

Distribution.

The genus contains 11 species described from East and South Asia, the Indonesian archipelago, Peninsular Malaysia, and New Guinea (Wang and Li 2020; Metzner 2026; World Spider Catalog 2026). All species are endemic to a single country, except for G. syringopalpis Wanless, 1984 and G. robusta Wanless, 1984; the former is found in China, Borneo, and Malaysia, and the latter in New Britain and Australia (Metzner 2026; World Spider Catalog 2026).

Gelotia korowai sp. nov.

F3D829CC-5C28-5A36-9492-BB7D4DDFEB20

https://zoobank.org/4FED67E5-0FEF-41F6-AE1B-FE9B321A49FF

Figs 1, 2, 3, 4

Figure 1.

Gelotia korowai sp. nov., habitus. A. Holotype male, dorsal view; B. Ibid., ventral view; C. Paratype female, dorsal view; D. Ibid., ventral view. Scale bars: 2.0 mm.

Material examined.

Holotype male: Papua New Guinea; • Mt Missim, 6 km N, 7 km W of Wau Aerodrome; 7°17.28'S, 146°39.12'E; 1350 m a.s.l.; 25 August 1988; leg. A. Allison; Tree 21 Tray 7; BM. Paratypes: • 1 male; same data as holotype; Tree 23 Tray 6 • 1 male; same data as holotype; Tree 21 Tray 30 • 1 male; same data as holotype; 20 August 1988; Tree 14 Tray 22. (BM).

Etymology.

Named after the Korowai people of New Guinea, who built houses in the canopy. Gelotia korowai sp. nov. has been captured by canopy fogging, indicating it also lives in the high canopy. The species name is a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis.

Male Gelotia korowai sp. nov. have an RTA that is similar to that of G. robusta and G. salax (Thorell, 1877). It can be easily differentiated from G. robusta by the length and width of the embolus, which is thin and long in G. korowai sp. nov. (Fig. 3) and short and thick in G. robusta (Wanless 1984: fig. 19). It can be easily differentiated from G. salax by the oval cymbium (Fig. 3A, B). The retrolateral cymbial outgrowth of G. salax is visible above the RTA in ventral view (compare Wanless 1984 fig. 20I with Fig. 3)

As illustrated by Patoleta and Żabka (2020: fig. 8), the embolus is similar in width to that of G. robusta but ends at the upper part of the bulb. In G. korowai sp. nov., the embolus reaches nearly half the length of the cymbium (Fig. 3B, C, H). Additional differences from G. robusta: rco (retrolateral cymbial outgrowth; Fig. 3H) covered by the bulb (Fig. 3H), visible in G. robusta (Patoleta and Żabka 2020: fig. 8), the pco (prolateral cymbial outgrowth; Fig. 3F) is a two-pronged cymbial extension (Fig. 3F, G). The RTA is pointed in G. korowai sp. nov. (Fig. 3) but blunt in G. robusta (Patoleta and Żabka 2020: figs 7, 8). The dco (dorsal cymbial outgrowth; Fig. 3E) is blunt and rounded.

The palps of G. salax and G. korowai sp. nov. are similar, as both RTAs are pointed. Gelotia korowai sp. nov. can be differentiated from G. salax by the length of the embolus: in G. korowai sp. nov. it reaches about the half the length of the bulb, whereas the embolus nearly reaches the RTA in G. salax. The RTA is 1.5× as long as the palpal tibia in G. korowai sp. nov. and as long as the tibia in G. salax (Wanless 1984: fig. 20C).

No females are known for G. salax. Females of G. korowai sp. nov. differ from those of G. robusta by the longer copulatory ducts (Fig. 4.), which are about half of the diameter of the spermathecae (about a third in G. robusta; Patoleta and Żabka 2020: fig. 17); the upward orientation of the fertilization ducts (Fig. 4C, D), which are directed downwards in G. robusta (Patoleta and Żabka 2020: fig. 17); and by the v-shaped sclerotized area around the copulatory organs, which are c-shaped in G. robusta (Patoleta and Żabka 2020: fig. 15).

Description.

Male (holotype). Habitus (Figs 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B). Total length 5.1. Carapace length 2.09, width 1.75. Abdomen length 3.01, width 1.42. Carapace round, brownish, with white/silver setae covering sides and thoracic slope (Fig. 1A). Ocular area covered in long, grey setae (Fig. 1A). Prosoma almost triangular in lateral view (Fig. 2A). Gnathocoxae and labium brown, with a white line in apical area (Fig. 1B). Chelicerae (Figs 1B, 2B) yellowish brown. Sternum oval, dark brown, covered with white setae (Fig. 1B). Opisthosoma longer than wide, dark brown, without any pattern (Figs 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B). Legs covered in fine white setae (Figs 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B). Leg measurements: I 5.07 II 5.06, III, 4.88, IV 5.81. Leg spination: Leg I: Fe d 1-1-4; Pa d 2; Ti d 1-0-1-1, pr and rt 1-1, v 2-2-2ap; Mt d 2-1-2, pr 1-1, rt 1-1-1, v 2. Leg II: Fe d 1-1-4; Pa d 2; Ti d 1-0-1-1, pr and rt 1-1, v 2-2-2ap; Mt d 2-1-2, pr 1-1, rt 1-1-1, v 2. Leg III: Fe d 1-1-4; Pa d 2; Ti d 1-0-1, pr and rt 1-1, v 2-2-2ap; Mt d 1-2, pr 1-1-1, rt 1-1-1, v 2-0-2. Leg IV: Fe d 1-1-4, Pa d 2; Ti d 1-0-1, pr and rt 1-0-1, v 2-2-2ap; Mt d 2-2-2, v 2-0-2. Palp (Fig. 3) dark brown, with round bulb, well-defined tegular furrow, and large RTA (Fig. 3). Palpal femur without apical apophysis; palp with an apical dorsal tubercle (adt) (Fig. 3E). Palpal tibia short, with a cap-like RTA, ‘dta’, and ‘vta’ (Fig. 3E, H). Cymbium with a pco, a dco, and an rco (Fig. 3E, H), with round bulb; tegular furrow long and curved (Fig. 3A–D). Embolus robust, relatively long, curving inwards towards alveolus (Fig. 3A–D, H). RTA large, triangular, with a slight curve on both upper and lower sides (Fig. 3A–E); dta small, tooth-like; vta similar to dta but larger (Fig. 3F–H). Cymbium with both dco and pco; both small and rounded (Fig. 3E).

Female (paratype). Habitus (Figs 1C, 1D, 2C–E). Total length 6.48. Carapace length 2.77, width 2.01. Abdomen length 3.71, width 2.39. Carapace brownish, covered in white setae (Figs 1C, 2C, 2D). Gnathocoxae and labium brown, with a white line in apical region (Fig. 1D). Chelicerae (Figs 1D, 2D, 2E) yellowish brown, with dense whitish setae (Figs 1D, 2D, 2E). Sternum oval, light brown, covered with setae (Fig. 1D). Legs covered in fine setae, with brown and white alternating patterns (Figs 1C, 1D, 2C–E). Leg measurements: I 5.36, II 5.39, III, 5.22, IV 6.33. Leg spination: Leg I: Fe d 1-1-4; Pa d 2; Ti d 1, pr and rt 1-0-1, v 2-2-2ap; Mt d 1-2, pr 1-1, rt 1-1, v 2. Leg II: Fe d 1-1-4; Pa d 2; Ti d 1, pr and rt 1-0-1, v 2-2-2ap; Mt d 1-2, pr 1-1, rt 1-1, v 2. Leg III: Fe d 1-1-4; Pa d 2; Ti d 1-0-1, pr 1-0-1, rt 1-1-1, v 2-2-2ap; Mt d 1-2, pr 1-1, rt 1-1, v 2-0-2. Leg IV: Fe d 1-1-4, Pa d 2; Ti d 1-0-1, pr 1-0-1 rt 1-1-1, v 2-2-2ap; Mt d 1-2, pr 1-1, rt 1-1, v 2-0-2. Entire body covered in fine, dense whiteish setae (Figs 1C, 1D, 2C, 2D, 2E). Opisthosoma round, pale, with brown patterns (Figs 1C, 1D, 2C–E). Spinnerets short (Figs 1C, 1D, 2D). Epigyne (Fig. 4) round, with median ridge and dark copulatory openings (Fig. 4). Spermathecae kidney-shaped, located near median ridge (Fig. 4). Sperm ducts highly folded, beneath spermathecae (Fig. 4C, D).

Distribution.

Known only from the type locality, Mt Missim (Fig. 10).

Figure 10.

Distribution map of Cocalodes and Gelotia species discussed.

Natural history.

The male specimens were collected from trees of the genus Lithocarpus Blume; the holotype and one paratype were from the forest interior, and the other paratype was from the forest edge. The female specimen was found on a tree, Castanopsis acuminatissima (Blume) A.DC.

Tribe Cocalodini Simon, 1901

Genus. Cocalodes

Pocock, 1897

FBDA1F4C-D412-5F16-841F-AA8664F28E44

Type species.

Cocalodes leptopus Pocock, 1897 by original designation.

Diagnosis.

Males with more or less elongated chelicerae (Figs 5, 6, 7), often with enlarged intercheliceral sclerite horn. Male palp with an elongated femur and tibia. RTA small but well sclerotized; cymbium with a retrolateral proximal row of 3–5 peg-like setae (Fig. 9E–H, Wanless 1982: figs 1A, 2C, 4C, 6C, 7G, I, 10C, 15D, 18A). Upper half of cymbium elongated; bulb with a large apical conductor, a retrolateral median apophysis, and a filiform embolus originating from proximal part of the small tegulum.

Figure 5.

Cocalodes spp., habitus, males, dorsal views. A. C. innotabilis (HNHMAraneae-10722); B. C. thoracicus (HNHMAraneae-11642); C. C. macellus (HNHMAraneae-11674); D. C. plebejus, lectotype (HNHM-Araneae-4459). Scale bars: 2.0 mm.

Figure 6.

Habitus of Cocalodes spp., habitus, males, lateral view. A. C. innotabilis (HNHMAraneae-10722); B. C. thoracicus (HNHMAraneae-11642); C. C. macellus (HNHMAraneae-11674); D. C. plebejus, lectotype (HNHM-Araneae-7447). Scale bars: 2.0 mm.

Figure 7.

Cocalodes spp., prosoma, males, fronto-lateral view. A. C. innotabilis (HNHMAraneae-10722); B. C. thoracicus (HNHMAraneae-11642); C. C. macellus (HNHMAraneae-11674); D. C. plebejus, lectotype (HNHM-Araneae-4459). Scale bars 2.0 mm.

Figure 9.

Cocalodes spp., male palpal bulbs. A–D. Ventral view; E–H. Retrolateral view; A, E. C. innotabilis (HNHMAraneae-10722); B, F. C. macellus (HNHMAraneae-11674); C, G. C. thoracicus (HNHMAraneae-11642). D, H. C. plebejus lectotype (HNHM-Araneae-7447). Scale bars: 0.4 mm.

Description.

For detailed description, see Wanless (1982).

Comments.

The genus has 12 described species from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and of those, 10 are known from the island of New Guinea. Four species are known only from one sex, and few new data have emerged since Wanless’s (1982) revision. Wanless (1982) delimited and illustrated all species well but was unable to examine two species, Cocalodes plebejus and C. thoracicus, described by Szombathy (1915).

Cocalodes innotabilis

Wanless, 1982

E3BCEE53-A0D4-5AA0-8E70-1AAD8DB77F6B

Figs 5A, 6A, 7A, 8A, 8E, 9A, 9E

Figure 8.

Cocalodes spp., male copulatory organs. A–D. Ventral view; E–H. Retrolateral view; A, E. C. innotabilis (HNHMAraneae-10722); B, F. C. macellus (HNHMAraneae-11674); C, G. C. thoracicus (HNHMAraneae-11642); D, H. C. plebejus lectotype (HNHM-Araneae-7447). Scale bars: 0.4 mm.

• Cocalodes innotabilis Wanless 1982: 288.

Type material.

Holotype male • Papua New Guinea; Louisiade Archipelago, Sudest Island: Rambuso, camp 11; 11°29.03'S, 153°32.47'E; 0–100 m a.s.l.; October 1956; leg. L.J. Brass and R.F. Peterson; Fifth Archbold Expedition to New Guinea; AMNH (not examined).

Other material examined.

Papua New Guinea • 1 male; Port Moresby Brown River; 9°12.37'S, 147°0.86'E; 5 m a.s.l.; 23 October 1960.; leg. J.L. Gressit; HNHM-Araneae 10722 • 3 males; same locality; 21 July 1969; leg. J. Balogh; HNHM-Araneae 11575, HNHM-Araneae 11683.

Cocalodes thoracicus

Szombathy, 1915

934175C3-FB26-5E1A-AFAE-78CE9263A91B

Figs 5B, 6B, 7B, 8C, 8G, 9C, 9G

• Cocalodes thoracicus Szombathy 1915: 470.

Note.

For a detailed synonymy and citation list, see World Spider Catalog (2026).

Type material.

Lectotype male, here designated: Papua New Guinea • Astrolabe Bay, Stephansort; 5°26.50'S, 145°45.34'E; 5 m a.s.l.; leg. L. Bíró; HNHM-Araneae 7449.

Other material.

Papua New Guinea • 1 male; Astrolabe Bay, Erima; 5°24.85'S, 145°43.94'E; 10 m a.s.l.; leg. L. Bíró; HNHM-Araneae 4464 • 1 male; Huon Peninsula, Simbang; 6°35.11'S, 147°49.21'E; 20 m a.s.l.; leg. L. Bíró; HNHM-Araneae 4462 • 1 male, 1 female; Astrolabe Bay, Stephansort; 5°26.77'S, 145°44.69'E; 15 m a.s.l.; leg. L. Bíró; HNHM-Araneae 4465 • 1 male, 1 juvenile; Madang; 5°14.79'S, 145°46.92'E; 30 m a.s.l.; leg. L. Bíró; HNHM-Araneae 4463 • 1 female; Mt Missim, 6 km N, 7 km of W Wau Aerodrome; 7°17.28'S, 146°39.12'E; 1350 m a.s.l.; 25 August 1988; leg. A. Allison; Tree 18 Tray 9; BM • 1 male, 1 female from Mt Kaindi; 7°20.10'S, 146 40.91'E; 30 m a.s.l.; leg. J. Balogh; HNHM-Araneae 11642.

Remarks.

As mentioned by Wanless (1982), the types were in “Termeszettudomanyi Muzeum, Budapest”, but unfortunately it was impossible for him to examine them. We were able to locate five vials labelled Cocalodes thoracicus, HNHM-Araneae 4462 to 4465 and 7449. The localities of these specimens match those in the original description (Szombathy 1915: 472): “Erima, Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen [now Stephansort] (baie de l’Astrolabe), Simbang (Huon golf)”. We designate a lectotype for C. thoracicus here.

Szombathy (Szombathy 1915) did not illustrate the male palp nor the epigyne, but the chelicera has a unique lobe that allowed Wanless (1982) to recognize the species and illustrate its copulatory organs. When examining the lectotype male, we confirmed Wanless’s (1982) identification. For a detailed description, see Wanless (1982).

Cocalodes macellus

Thorell, 1878

66F41C44-7C16-5B49-AF5D-662194659BB2

Figs 5C, 6C, 7C, 8B, 8F, 9B, 9F

• Cocalus macellus Thorell 1878: 287.

Note.

For a detailed synonymy and citation list, see World Spider Catalog (2026).

Type material.

• 1 female; Indonesia; Maluku, Ambon; 3°39.92'S, 128°4.79'E; 30 m a.s.l.; leg. Beccari; MCSN, Genova (not examined).

Material examined.

Papua New Guinea • 2 males; Lae; 6°40.58'S, 146°54.53'E; 30 m a.s.l.; leg. J. Balogh; HNHM-Araneae 11601, HNHM-Araneae 11674.

Remarks.

Wanless (1982) supplied excellent drawings of the male palp and habitus, as well as the female copulatory organs. Maddison (2009) provided additional data on this species from Tualapa and figured living specimens of both sexes. For detailed description, see Wanless (1982).

Cocalodes papuanus

Simon, 1900

97635ECD-2A86-5266-B506-F6667E0C0D3B

Figs 5D, 6D, 7D, 8D, H, 9D, H

• Cocalodes papuanus Simon 1900: 32.

• Cocalodes armatissimus Strand 1913: 122.

• Cocalodes plebejus Szombathy 1915: 468.

Note.

For a detailed synonymy and citation list, see World Spider Catalog (2026).

Type material.

C. papuanus, lectotype male; Indonesia • Irian Jaya; MNHN (not examined). C. armatissimus: lectotype male; Papua New Guinea • Schouten Islands, Vokeo; FS (not examined). C. plebejus: lectotype male designated here; Indonesia • Madura Island; 7°1.37'S, 113°18.71'E; 100 m a.s.l.; leg. L. Bíró; HNHM-Araneae 4459.

Other material examined.

Papua New Guinea • 1 male; Garove Island; 4°39.25'S, 149°30.36'E; 100 m a.s.l.; 1900; leg. L. Bíró; HNHM-Araneae 7447 • 1 female; same locality; HNHM-Araneae 7448 • 3 juveniles; Astrolabe Bay, Stephansort; 5°26.50'S, 145°45.34'E; 5 m a.s.l.; leg. L. Bíró; HNHM-Araneae 4460 • 1 female, 1 juvenile; Tumleo Island; 3°7.19'S, 142°23.83'E; leg. L. Bíró; HNHM-Araneae 4461.

Remarks.

As mentioned by Wanless (1982), the Szombathy’s type material of C. plebejus is “presumably in TM, Budapest”, and we were able to locate the specimens in the HNHM. There are 10 vials in that collection identified as Cocalodes. Five of them are labelled as C. thoracicus, and five as “Cocalodes communis”. However, there is no known species with the communis epithet, and C. plebejus was not used on any labels in the HNHM collection. Because the Latin words plebejus and communis have similar meanings, one of these tubes is labelled as the “typus”, and the localities on the labels match those in the original description—”India or Madura, Stephansort (Astrolabe Bay), Tamara (Berlinhafen), I. Declacs [sic!]” (Szombathy 1915: 470)—we can assume that these five tubes contain the syntypes of C. plebejus. These tubes are HNHM-Araneae 4459 to 4461, 7447, and 7448. There is some inconsistency in the listed specimens (“3 mâles, 3 femelles, 4 immatures”) and what we found in the collection (2 males, 2 females, 4 juveniles).

Although there is a tube in the collection with a male in poor condition (Fig. 6D; both palps are detached, Figs 8D, 8H) with the label “typus”, Szombathy (1915) neither selected a type specimen nor distinguished a specimen as the holotype in the original description of C. plebejus. Thus, all these specimens are considered syntypes. Although C. plebejus is a junior synonym, due to the labelling differences and for taxonomic stability, we here designate a lectotype. We have chosen HNHM-Araneae 4459, a male with both palps still attached (Figs 5D, 7D).

The above synonymy proposed by Wanless is supported by detailed figures of the palp and habitus provided by Szombathy (1915) and Wanless (1982). The species has been found not only in Papua New Guinea (Vokeo Island, Madang) but in Indonesia (Manokwari Bay, Jayapura). Maddison et al. (2014) illustrated a male from Baiteta Forest (Madang). The species possesses a unique cheliceral formation and therefore is possible to identify from photographs. However, it has not been observed on iNaturalist or similar citizen-scientist platforms.

For a detailed description see Wanless (1982).

Citation

Takács-Vágó H, Szűts T, Szabó K (2026) New data on jumping spiders of the subfamily Spartaeinae (Araneae, Salticidae) from New Guinea, with the description of a new species. ZooKeys 1286: 355–372. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1286.172848

Additional information

Conflict of interest

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Ethical statement

No ethical statement was reported.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) use

The authors accept full responsibility for the content of the manuscript, including the disclosure of any use of AI.

No AI tools were used in the preparation of this manuscript.

Funding

The research was supported by the strategic research fund of the University of Veterinary Medicine 587 Budapest (grant no. SRF-002 to Krisztián Szabó and grant no. SRF-003 to Tamás Szűts).

Author contributions

TVH, TSz and KSz written the original manuscript. Coneptualization TVH, KSz. Illustrations TVH and TSz.

Author ORCIDs

H. Takács-Vágó https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7837-1979

T. Szűts https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8954-0641

K. Szabó https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5110-8279

Data availability

All of the data that support the findings of this study are available in the main text.