Salticus (from Latin “saltus” – leap or jump) is a genus of the family Salticidae (the jumping spiders). Salticus is the type genus for the family Salticidae.

Description

Coloration is determined by various scales (modified setae) covering a brown or black integument. Narrow scales (or hairs) may be black or red/rust colored, while broad scales are either iridescent (often magenta or green) 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 (Clerck, 1757). Some Salticus species in the Southwestern US and Mexico have red and white transverse stripes on the abdomen, e.g. Salticus palpalis (Banks, 1904). Some lack the “zebra” stripes completely and have both dorsal abdomen and cephalothorax covered with iridescent scales, e.g. Salticus peckhamae (Cockerell, 1897). 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 (into Mexico) and the Mediterranean. Four species have been recorded from the Canary Islands

Species

, this genus includes 45 species:

Salticus afghanicus Logunov & Zamanpoore, 2005 – Afghanistan Salticus aiderensis Logunov & Rakov, 1998 – Turkmenistan Salticus alegranzaensis Wunderlich, 1995 – Canary Islands Salticus annulatus (Giebel, 1870) – South Africa Salticus austinensis Gertsch, 1936 – United States, Mexico, Central America Salticus beneficus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885) – India Salticus bonaerensis Holmberg, 1876 – Argentina Salticus brasiliensis Lucas, 1833 – Brazil Salticus canariensis Wunderlich, 1987 – Canary Islands Salticus cingulatus (Panzer, 1797) – Europe, Turkey, Russia (Europe to Far East), Kazakhstan, Mongolia Salticus confusus Lucas, 1846 – Portugal, Spain, France (Corsica), Bulgaria, Greece (Crete), Morocco, Algeria Salticus conjonctus (Simon, 1868) – Spain, France, Italy Salticus coronatus (Camboué, 1887) – Madagascar Salticus devotus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885) – Pakistan Salticus dzhungaricus Logunov, 1992 – Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan Salticus falcarius (Hentz, 1846) – United States Salticus flavicruris (Rainbow, 1897) – Australia (New South Wales) Salticus gomerensis Wunderlich, 1987 – Canary Islands Salticus insperatus Logunov, 2009 – Iran Salticus iteacus Metzner, 1999 – Greece Salticus jugularis Simon, 1900 – Australia (Queensland) Salticus karakumensis Logunov & Ponomarev, 2020 – Turkmenistan Salticus kraali (Thorell, 1878) – Indonesia (Ambon) Salticus latidentatus Roewer, 1951 – Russia (South Siberia, Far East), Mongolia, China, Japan Salticus lucasi Zamani, Hosseini & Moradmand, 2020 – Iran Salticus major (Simon, 1868) – Portugal, Spain, France Salticus meticulosus Lucas, 1846 – Algeria Salticus modicus (Simon, 1875) – France Salticus mutabilis Lucas, 1846 – Macaronesia, Europe, North Africa, Turkey, Caucasus. Introduced to Argentina Salticus noordami Metzner, 1999 – Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, Iran Salticus palpalis (Banks, 1904) – United States, Mexico Salticus paludivagus Lucas, 1846 – Algeria Salticus peckhamae (Cockerell, 1897) – United States Salticus perogaster (Thorell, 1881) – Papua New Guinea (Yule Is.) Salticus propinquus Lucas, 1846 – Mediterranean Salticus proszynskii Logunov, 1992 – Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan Salticus ravus (Bösenberg, 1895) – Canary Islands Salticus ressli Logunov, 2015 – Turkey Salticus scenicus (Clerck, 1757) – North America, Europe, Russia (Europe to Far East), Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Iran (type species) Salticus scitulus (Simon, 1868) – France (Corsica) Salticus tricinctus (C. L. Koch, 1846) – Mediterranean to Central Asia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan Salticus turkmenicus Logunov & Rakov, 1998 – Turkmenistan Salticus unciger (Simon, 1868) – France, Switzerland, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Albania Salticus unicolor (Simon, 1868) – Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece Salticus zebraneus (C. L. Koch, 1837) – Europe, Turkey, Russia (Europe, Caucasus), Iran

References

Further reading Murphy, Frances & Murphy, John (2000): An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Malaysian Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur.

External links

Dr. Heiko Metzner's Worldwide Database of Jumping Spiders (includes descriptions, distribution maps, drawings/photos for most species listed in the World Spider Catalog) Video of Salticus scenicus