Kingdom Animalia Subphylum Chelicerata Order Araneae Scientific name Zygoballus melloleitaoi | Phylum Arthropoda Class Arachnida Infraorder Araneomorphae Rank Species | |
Zygoballus melloleitaoi is a species of jumping spider which occurs in Argentina. It is known only from a single female specimen collected in Puerto Victoria, Misiones.
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Taxonomy
The species was originally described in 1945 by Brazilian arachnologist Cândido Firmino de Mello-Leitão as Gastromicans sexpunctata. In 1980, the Argentinian arachnologist María Elena Galiano transferred the species to the genus Zygoballus. Because the name Zygoballus sexpunctatus was already in use, Galiano gave the species a new name, Zygoballus melloleitaoi, in honor of Mello-Leitão. Jerzy Prószyński's Global Species Database of Salticidae lists the species as "dubious". However, it is listed as a recognized species by Platnick's World Spider Catalog (Version 10.5).
Description
The only known specimen is a female 4 mm in length.
The type specimen is housed at the La Plata Museum in Argentina (Zenzes collection, No. 16.785).