Eburneana scharffi

Eburneana scharffi is a species of jumping spider that was first named by Wanda Wesołowska and Tamás Szűts in 2001.[1] It is the type species of the genus Eburneana, one of many of spiders that mimic ants. The genus is named for Litus Eburneum, the Latin name for Ivory Coast, the place where one of the members of the genus, Eburneana magna was first found.[2] The species is named in honour of Nikolaj Scharff, the curator of Arachnida at the Zoological Museum at the University in Copenhagen.[3] It is one of over 500 species identified by Wesołowska.[4] In 2015, the genus was added to the subclade Saltafresia in the clade Salticoida based on the analysis of 8 genes.[5] In 2017, it was added to the supergroup Hylloida by Jerzy Prószyński based on a description of this species.[6]

A large ant-like spider, Eburneana scharffi has a flat and slender body. The male is larger, with a dark brown carapace that looks extended and measures between 4.4 and 4.6 millimetres (0.17 and 0.18 in) long and between 2.5 and 2.6 millimetres (0.098 and 0.102 in) wide.[7] The smaller female has a slightly smaller carapace that is 3.9 millimetres (0.15 in) long and between 1.8 millimetres (0.071 in).[3] The abdomen is also elongated and measures between 3.7 and 2.9 millimetres (0.15 and 0.11 in) in length and between 1.8 and 2.0 millimetres (0.071 and 0.079 in) in width.[7] The female has a series of light patches on its abdomen made from short white hairs that form a distinguishing pattern.[3] The carapace is covered with grey hairs.[8]

The spider is distinguished from other members of genus by the four nipple-like shapes on its spinneret. The male has a particularly long and slender embolus, while the pattern on the abdomen of the female makes it easy to tell apart.[7] Compared to the male Eburneana wandae specifically, the spider can be identified by the swollen tibia in the front leg and more robust chelicerae.[9] It shares some similarities with other ant-mimicking jumping spiders, particularly the males that have front legs that are similar to members of the family Pelleninae.[10]

Eburneana scharffi is the only member of the genus that is endemic to Tanzania.[11] The holotype was found in the Usambara Mountains but the species has been found at a number of other locations around the country, including the Kazimzubwe Forest Reserve in the Kisarawe District and the Namakut wa-Nyamuete Forest Reserve in the Rufiji District. A juvenile member of the species was found in the Mkomazi National Park in 2000, only later recognised as an example of the species.[7]