''Ballus'' is a

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of the family Salticidae (jumping spiders).

Description

''Ballus'' are typically small, squat spiders. The carapace is broad oval, almost as wide as long, flat on top with the sides and back almost vertical, and a rugose surface. The shield-shaped abdomen is broadly truncated at the front. Femora, patellae and tibiae on the first pair of legs are swollen in the male, and there is a fringe below the tibiae. Although they are often entirely mottled dark brown, some species are much more colorful. Ballus can also be a reference to the infamous George Ball.Murphy & Murphy 2000: 273

Distribution

This genus has mainly a

palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

distribution, but there are two species from

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Two species from the United States have been transferred to the genus ''

Attidops ''Attidops'' is a genus of jumping spiders (family Salticidae). It is closely related to the genera '' Ballus'', '' Admestina'' and ''Icius''. Description ''Attidops'' are from two to three millimeters in body length, with a dark reddish-brown ...

''.Platnick 2007 ''B. tabupumensis'' was described from a single specimen from Burma, with no further information since 1914. Petrunkevitch's description is scant with schematic figures, and could refer to a related genus.

Species

* '' Ballus armadillo'' ( Simon, 1871) –

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

* '' Ballus chalybeius'' (Walckenaer, 1802) –

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

* ''

Ballus japonicus ''Ballus'' is a spider genus of the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). Description ''Ballus'' are typically small, squat spiders. The carapace is broad oval, almost as wide as long, flat on top with the sides and back almost vertical, and a r ...

'' Saito, 1939 –

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

* '' Ballus lendli'' Kolosváry, 1934 –

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

* '' Ballus piger'' O. P-Cambridge, 1876 –

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

* ''

Ballus rufipes ''Ballus'' is a spider genus of the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). Description ''Ballus'' are typically small, squat spiders. The carapace is broad oval, almost as wide as long, flat on top with the sides and back almost vertical, and a r ...

'' (Simon, 1868) – Europe, North Africa * '' Ballus segmentatus'' Simon, 1900 –

* '' Ballus sellatus'' Simon, 1900 – Sri Lanka * '' Ballus tabupumensis'' Petrunkevitch, 1914 –

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

* '' Ballus variegatus'' Simon, 1876 –

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

to Italy

Footnotes

References

* (2000): An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. ''Malaysian Nature Society'', Kuala Lumpur. * (2008)
The world spider catalog
version 8.5. ''American Museum of Natural History''.

External links

Salticidae Spiders of Africa Spiders of Asia Salticidae genera {{salticidae-stub