Salticus
Salticus is a genus of the family Salticidae. Salticus is the type genus for the family Salticidae.
Description
Coloration is determined by various scales covering a brown or black integument. Narrow scales may be black or red/rust colored, while broad scales are either iridescent or opaque granular white or yellow.
Several common species have a dorsal pattern of black narrow scales and white granular scales arranged in transverse stripes, especially on the abdomen, from which the common name “zebra spiders” originates, e.g. Holarctic Salticus scenicus. Some Salticus species in the Southwestern US and Mexico have red and white transverse stripes on the abdomen, e.g. Salticus palpalis. Some lack the “zebra” stripes completely and have both dorsal abdomen and cephalothorax covered with iridescent scales, e.g. Salticus peckhamae. Since the dorsal coloration does not seem to be involved in the male’s courtship display the coloration may have been selected for camouflage or mimicry. For example, there is a strong similarity between S. palpalis and Agapostemon sweat bees.
Salticus species range in length from 3-7 mm. Males are smaller than females, but have elongated chelicerae and pedipalps.
Habits
Like most Salticidae, they prefer open, sunny habitats. They are often found on vertical surfaces including man-made structures such as walls and fences or natural such as tree trunks. They are commonly found near water, where they feast on emergent aquatic gnats and other insects. One study recorded dipterans as 70% of prey items. Salticus species have been observed preying on insects several times their body size.
Distribution
This genus has at least one species recorded from every continent except Antarctica. One common species, S. scenicus, is a widely distributed Holarctic species associated with human habitations. S. scenicus has the second most jumping spider observations on iNaturalist. Most other Salticus species have a more restricted distribution. Two areas with high species diversity are the Southwestern portion of the United States and the Mediterranean. Four species have been recorded from the Canary Islands
Species
, this genus includes 45 species:Salticus afghanicus Logunov & Zamanpoore, 2005 – AfghanistanSalticus aiderensis Logunov & Rakov, 1998 – TurkmenistanSalticus alegranzaensis Wunderlich, 1995 – Canary IslandsSalticus annulatus – South AfricaSalticus austinensis Gertsch, 1936 – United States, Mexico, Central AmericaSalticus beneficus – IndiaSalticus bonaerensis Holmberg, 1876 – ArgentinaSalticus brasiliensis Lucas, 1833 – BrazilSalticus canariensis Wunderlich, 1987 – Canary IslandsSalticus cingulatus – Europe, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, MongoliaSalticus confusus Lucas, 1846 – Portugal, Spain, France, Bulgaria, Greece, Morocco, AlgeriaSalticus conjonctus – Spain, France, ItalySalticus coronatus – MadagascarSalticus devotus – PakistanSalticus dzhungaricus Logunov, 1992 – Kazakhstan, TurkmenistanSalticus falcarius – United StatesSalticus flavicruris – Australia Salticus gomerensis Wunderlich, 1987 – Canary IslandsSalticus insperatus Logunov, 2009 – IranSalticus iteacus Metzner, 1999 – GreeceSalticus jugularis Simon, 1900 – Australia Salticus karakumensis Logunov & Ponomarev, 2020 – TurkmenistanSalticus kraali – Indonesia Salticus latidentatus Roewer, 1951 – Russia, Mongolia, China, JapanSalticus lucasi Zamani, Hosseini & Moradmand, 2020 – IranSalticus major – Portugal, Spain, FranceSalticus meticulosus Lucas, 1846 – AlgeriaSalticus modicus – FranceSalticus mutabilis Lucas, 1846 – Macaronesia, Europe, North Africa, Turkey, Caucasus. Introduced to ArgentinaSalticus noordami Metzner, 1999 – Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, IranSalticus palpalis – United States, MexicoSalticus paludivagus Lucas, 1846 – AlgeriaSalticus peckhamae – United StatesSalticus perogaster – Papua New Guinea Salticus propinquus Lucas, 1846 – MediterraneanSalticus proszynskii Logunov, 1992 – Kyrgyzstan, KazakhstanSalticus ravus – Canary IslandsSalticus ressli Logunov, 2015 – TurkeySalticus scenicus – North America, Europe, Russia, Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Iran Salticus scitulus – France Salticus tricinctus – Mediterranean to Central Asia, Iran, Kazakhstan, AfghanistanSalticus turkmenicus Logunov & Rakov, 1998 – TurkmenistanSalticus unciger – France, Switzerland, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, AlbaniaSalticus unicolor – Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, GreeceSalticus zebraneus – Europe, Turkey, Russia, Iran