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Jumping spiders are a group of
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 ...
s that constitute the
family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Salticidae. As of 2019, this family contained over 600 described genera and over 6,000 described
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
, making it the largest family of
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 ...
s at 13% of all species. Jumping spiders have some of the best vision among
arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...
s and use it in courtship, hunting, and navigation. Although they normally move unobtrusively and fairly slowly, most species are capable of very agile jumps, notably when hunting, but sometimes in response to sudden threats or crossing long gaps. Both their book lungs and tracheal system are well-developed, and they use both systems (bimodal breathing). Jumping spiders are generally recognized by their eye pattern. All jumping spiders have four pairs of eyes, with the anterior median pair being particularly large.


Distinguishing characteristics

Jumping spiders are among the easiest to distinguish from similar spider families because of the shape of the
cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...
and their eye patterns. The families closest to Salticidae in general appearance are the
Corinnidae Corinnidae is a family of araneomorph spiders, sometimes called corinnid sac spiders. The family, like other "clubionoid" families, has a confusing taxonomic history. Once it was a part of the large catch-all taxon Clubionidae, now very much small ...
(distinguished also by prominent spines on the back four legs), the
Oxyopidae Lynx spider (Oxyopidae) is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1870. Most species make little use of webs, instead spending their lives as hunting spiders on plants. Many species frequent flowers in particular, ...
(the lynx spiders, distinguished by very prominent spines on all legs), and the
Thomisidae The Thomisidae are a family of spiders, including about 170 genera and over 2,100 species. The common name crab spider is often linked to species in this family, but is also applied loosely to many other families of spiders. Many members of thi ...
(the crab spiders, distinguished by their front four legs, which are very long and powerful). None of these families, however, have eyes that resemble those of the Salticidae. Conversely, the legs of jumping spiders are not covered with any very prominent spines. Their front four legs generally are larger than the hind four, but not as dramatically so as those of the crab spiders, nor are they held in the outstretched-arms attitude characteristic of the Thomisidae. In spite of the length of their front legs, Salticidae depend on their rear legs for jumping. The generally larger front legs are used partly to assist in grasping prey, and in some species, the front legs and
pedipalp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the second pair of appendages of chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicerae ("jaws") and ...
s are used in species-recognition signalling. The jumping spiders, unlike the other families, have faces that are roughly rectangular surfaces perpendicular to their direction of motion. In effect this means that their forward-looking, anterior eyes are on "flat faces", as shown in the photographs. Their eye pattern is the clearest single identifying characteristic. They have eight eyes, as illustrated. Most diagnostic are the front row of four eyes, in which the anterior median pair are more dramatically prominent than any other spider eyes apart from the posterior median eyes of the
Deinopidae Deinopidae, also known as net casting spiders, is a family of cribellate spiders first described by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1850. It consists of stick-like elongated spiders that catch prey by stretching a web across their front legs before propelling ...
. There is, however, a radical functional difference between the major (AME) eyes of Salticidae and the major (PME) eyes of the Deinopidae; the large posterior eyes of Deinopidae are adapted mainly to vision in dim light, whereas the large anterior eyes of Salticidae are adapted to detailed, three-dimensional vision for purposes of estimating the range, direction, and nature of potential prey, permitting the spider to direct its attacking leaps with great precision. The anterior lateral eyes, though large, are smaller than the AME and provide a wider forward field of vision. The rear row of four eyes may be described as strongly bent, or as being rearranged into two rows, with two large posterior lateral eyes being the furthest back. They serve for lateral vision. The posterior median eyes also have been shifted out laterally, almost as far as the posterior lateral eyes. They are usually much smaller than the posterior lateral eyes and there is doubt about whether they are at all functional in many species. The body length of jumping spiders generally ranges from . The largest is ''
Hyllus In Greek mythology, Hyllus (; Ancient Greek: Ὕλλος) or Hyllas (Ὕλᾱς) was son of Heracles and Deianira, husband of Iole, nursed by Abia. Mythology Heracles, whom Zeus had originally intended to be ruler of Argos, Lacedaemon and Mes ...
giganteus'', while other genera with relatively large species include ''
Phidippus ''Phidippus'' is a genus in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). Some of the largest jumping spiders inhabit this genus, and many species are characterized by their brilliant, iridescent green chelicerae. ''Phidippus'' is distributed almos ...
'', ''
Philaeus ''Philaeus'' is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1869. ''Philaeus maoniuensis'' was moved to genus '' Yllenus'' in 2003. Species it contains seven species with a wide distribution. Most species are fro ...
'' and ''
Plexippus In Greek mythology, Plexippus or Plexippos (Ancient Greek: Πλήξιππος means "striking") is a name that refers to: * Plexippus, a Pleuronian prince as the son of King Thestius of Pleuron and Eurythemis, daughter of Cleoboea. He was the b ...
''. In addition to using their
silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
for safety lines while jumping, they also build silken "pup tents", where they take shelter from bad weather and sleep at night. They molt in these shelters, build and store egg cases in them, and also spend the winter in them.


Habitat

Jumping spiders live in a variety of habitats.
Tropical forest Tropical forests (a.k.a. jungle) are forested landscapes in tropical regions: ''i.e.'' land areas approximately bounded by the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing winds. Some tropical fores ...
s harbor the most species, but they are also found in
temperate forest A temperate forest is a forest found between the tropical and boreal regions, located in the temperate zone. It is the second largest biome on our planet, covering 25% of the world's forest area, only behind the boreal forest, which covers abou ...
s,
scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, Herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or ...
,
desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
s,
intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species o ...
s, and mountainous regions. ''
Euophrys omnisuperstes ''Euophrys omnisuperstes'' (the species name means ''standing above everything''), the Himalayan jumping spider, is a small and toxic jumping spider that lives at elevations of up to in the Himalayas, including Mount Everest, making it a candida ...
'' is the species reported to have been collected at the highest elevation, on the slopes of
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
.


Vision

Jumping spiders have four pairs of eyes; three secondary pairs that are fixed and a principal pair that is movable. The posterior median eyes (PMEs) are
vestigial Vestigiality is the retention, during the process of evolution, of genetically determined structures or attributes that have lost some or all of the ancestral function in a given species. Assessment of the vestigiality must generally rely on co ...
in many species, but in some primitive subfamilies, they are comparable in size with the other secondary eyes and help to detect motion. While unable to form images, the reduced pair of eyes is thought to have a role similar to that of insect ocelli by receiving light from the sky. The photoreceptors in the other secondary pairs are almost exclusively green-sensitive, but the PMEs have two visual
opsin Animal opsins are G-protein-coupled receptors and a group of proteins made light-sensitive via a chromophore, typically retinal. When bound to retinal, opsins become Retinylidene proteins, but are usually still called opsins regardless. Most pro ...
s different from those in all the other eyes, sensitive to blue and UV light. The posterior lateral eyes (PLEs) are wide-angle motion detectors that sense motions from the side and behind. Combined with the other eyes, PLEs give the spider a near 360° view of the world. The anterior lateral eyes (ALEs) have the best
visual acuity Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...
of the secondary eyes. They are able to distinguish some details, as well, and without them, no "looming response" can be triggered by motion. Even with all the other pairs covered, jumping spiders in a study could still detect, stalk, and attack flies, using their ALEs only, which are also sufficiently widely spaced to provide stereoscopic vision. The anterior median eyes (AMEs) have very good
vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...
. This pair of eyes is built like a telescopic tube with a corneal lens in the front and a second lens in the back that focus images onto a four-layered retina, a narrow, boomerang-shaped strip oriented vertically. Physiological experiments have shown they may have up to four different kinds of receptor cells, with different
absorption spectra Absorption spectroscopy refers to spectroscopic techniques that measure the absorption of radiation, as a function of frequency or wavelength, due to its interaction with a sample. The sample absorbs energy, i.e., photons, from the radiating ...
, giving them the possibility of tetrachromatic
color vision Color vision, a feature of visual perception, is an ability to perceive differences between light composed of different wavelengths (i.e., different spectral power distributions) independently of light intensity. Color perception is a part of ...
, with sensitivity extending into the
ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...
(UV) range. As the eyes are too close together to allow
depth perception Depth perception is the ability to perceive distance to objects in the world using the visual system and visual perception. It is a major factor in perceiving the world in three dimensions. Depth perception happens primarily due to stereopsis an ...
, and the animals do not make use of
motion parallax Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects ...
, they have evolved a method called image defocus, instead. Of the four photoreceptor layers in the retina, the two closest to the surface contain a UV-sensitive opsin (visual pigment), while the two deepest contain a green-sensitive opsin. The incoming green light is only focused on the deepest layer, while the other one receives defocused or fuzzy images. By measuring the amount of defocus from the fuzzy layer, calculating the distance to the objects in front of them is possible. In addition to receptor cells, red filters also have been detected, located in front of the cells that normally register green light. All salticids, regardless of whether they have two, three, or four kinds of color receptors, seemingly are highly sensitive to UV light. Some species (for example, ''
Cosmophasis umbratica ''Cosmophasis umbratica'' is a species of jumping spider found in South and Southeast Asia. These spiders are known for their brilliant, shiny ultraviolet light. They are members of the family ''Salticidae'' and the genus '' Cosmophasis''. They a ...
'') are highly dimorphic in the UV spectrum, suggesting a role in sexual signaling. Color discrimination has been demonstrated in behavioral experiments. The principal, AMEs have high resolution (11
min Min or MIN may refer to: Places * Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China ** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian * Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China * Min River (Fujian) * Min River (Sichuan) * Mineola (Am ...
visual angle Visual angle is the angle a viewed object subtends at the eye, usually stated in degrees of arc. It also is called the object's angular size. The diagram on the right shows an observer's eye looking at a frontal extent (the vertical arrow) tha ...
), but the field of vision is narrow, from 2 to 5°. The central region of the retina, where acuity is highest, is no more than six or seven receptor rows wide. However, the eye can scan objects off the direct axis of vision. As the lens is attached to the carapace, the eye's scanning movements are restricted to its retina through a complicated pattern of translations and rotations. This dynamic adjustment is a means of compensation for the narrowness of the static field of vision. It is analogous to the way most
primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
s move their eyes to focus images of interest onto their
fovea centralis The fovea centralis is a small, central pit composed of closely packed cones in the eye. It is located in the center of the macula lutea of the retina. The fovea is responsible for sharp central vision (also called foveal vision), which is ne ...
. Such movements within the jumping spider's eyes are visible from outside when the attention of the spider is directed to various targets.


Behavior

Jumping spiders are generally diurnal, active hunters. Their well-developed internal
hydraulic Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counte ...
system extends their limbs by altering the pressure of their body fluid (
hemolymph Hemolymph, or haemolymph, is a fluid, analogous to the blood in vertebrates, that circulates in the interior of the arthropod (invertebrate) body, remaining in direct contact with the animal's tissues. It is composed of a fluid plasma in which ...
) within them. This enables the spiders to jump without having large muscular legs like a grasshopper. Most jumping spiders can jump several times the length of their bodies. When a jumping spider moves from place to place, and especially just before it jumps, it
tether A tether is a cord, fixture, or flexible attachment that characteristically anchors something movable to something fixed; it also maybe used to connect two movable objects, such as an item being towed by its tow. Applications for tethers includ ...
s a filament of
silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
(or 'dragline') to whatever it is standing on to protect itself if the jump should fail. Should it fall, for example if the prey shakes it off, it climbs back up the silk tether. Some species, such as ''Portia'', actually let themselves down to attack prey such as a web spider apparently secure in the middle of its web. Like many other spiders that leave practically continuous silk trails, jumping spiders impregnate the silk line with pheromones that play a role in social and reproductive communication, and possibly in navigation. Certain species of jumping spiders have been shown by experiment to be capable of learning, recognizing, and remembering colors, and adapting their hunting behavior accordingly.


Hunting

The hunting behaviour of the Salticidae is confusingly varied compared to that of most spiders in other families. Salticids hunt diurnally as a rule, which is consistent with their highly developed visual system. When it detects potential prey, a jumping spider typically begins orienting itself by swivelling its
cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...
to bring the AMEs to bear. It then moves its
abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...
into line with its cephalothorax. After that, it might spend some time inspecting the object of its attention and determining whether a camouflaged or doubtful item of prey is promising, before it starts to stalk slowly forward. When close enough, the spider pauses to attach a dragline, then springs onto the prey. Many variations on the theme and many surprising aspects exist. For one, salticids do not necessarily follow a straight path in approaching prey. They may follow a circuitous course, sometimes even a course that takes the hunter through regions from which the prey is not visible. Such complex adaptive behaviour is hard to reconcile with an organism that has such a tiny brain, but some jumping spiders, in particular some species of ''Portia'', can negotiate long detours from one bush down to the ground, then up the stem of another bush to capture a prey item on a particular leaf. Such behaviour still is the subject of research. Some salticid species are continually on the move, stopping periodically to look around for prey, which they then stalk immediately. Others spend more time scanning their surroundings from one position, actively stalking any prey they detect. Members of the genus ''Phaeacius'' take that strategy to extremes; they sit on a tree trunk, facing downwards and rarely do any stalking, but simply lunge down on any prey items that pass close before them. Some Salticidae specialise in particular classes of prey, such as
ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...
s. Most spiders, including most salticids, avoid worker ants, but several species not only eat them as a primary item in their diets, but also employ specialised attack techniques; '' Anasaitis canosa'', for example, circles around to the front of the ant and grabs it over the back of its head. Such
myrmecophagous Myrmecophagy is a feeding behavior defined by the consumption of termites or ants, particularly as pertaining to those animal species whose diets are largely or exclusively composed of said insect types. Literally, myrmecophagy means "ant eating" ...
species, however, do not necessarily refuse other prey items, and routinely catch flies and similar prey in the usual salticid fashion, without the special precautions they apply in hunting dangerous prey such as ants. Ants offer the advantages of being plentiful prey items for which little competition from other predators occurs, but catching less hazardous prey when it presents itself remains profitable. Some of the most surprising hunting behaviours occur among the araneophagous Salticidae, and vary greatly in method. Many of the spider-hunting species quite commonly attack other spiders, whether fellow salticids or not, in the same way as any other prey, but some kinds resort to web invasion; nonspecialists such as ''
Phidippus audax ''Phidippus audax'' or the bold jumping spider is a common species of spider belonging to the genus ''Phidippus'', a group of jumping spiders easily identified by their large eyes and their iridescent chelicerae.Jackson, R., & Richman, D. (1992 ...
'' sometimes attack prey ensnared in webs, basically in acts of
kleptoparasitism Kleptoparasitism (etymologically, parasitism by theft) is a form of feeding in which one animal deliberately takes food from another. The strategy is evolutionarily stable when stealing is less costly than direct feeding, which can mean when f ...
; sometimes they leap onto and eat the web occupant itself, or simply walk over the web for that purpose. Salticidae in the genera ''
Brettus ''Brettus'' is a genus of jumping spiders. Its six described species are found in southern Asia from India to China and Sulawesi, with a single species endemic to Madagascar. Two species in this genus, ''B. celebensis'' and ''B. madagascarensis ...
'', ''
Cyrba ''Cyrba'' is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). The genus was erected by Hippolyte Lucas in 1846. Description ''Cyrba'' spiders are small to medium size spiders that are usually brightly colored. Their cephalothora ...
'', ''
Gelotia ''Gelotia'' is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1890. Species It contains ten species, found only in Asia and on New Britain: *''Gelotia argenteolimbata'' ( Simon, 1900) – Singapore *''Gelotia bimacula ...
'', and '' Portia'' display more advanced web-invasion behavior. They slowly advance onto the web and vibrate the silk with their pedipalps and legs. In this respect, their behaviour resembles that of the
Mimetidae Pirate spiders, members of the family Mimetidae, are araneomorph spiders which typically feed on other spiders. The family Mimetidae contains roughly 200 species divided among 12 genera, of which ''Mimetus'' and ''Ero'' are the most common. Mim ...
, probably the most specialised of the araneophagous spider families. If the web occupant approaches in the manner appropriate to dealing with ensnared prey, the predator attacks. The foregoing examples present the Salticidae as textbook examples of active hunters; they would hardly seem likely to build webs other than those used in reproductive activities, and in fact, most species really do not build webs to catch prey. However, exceptions occur, though even those that do build capture webs generally also go hunting like other salticids. Some ''Portia'' species, for example, spin capture webs that are functional, though not as impressive as some orb webs of the
Araneidae Orb-weaver spiders are members of the spider family Araneidae. They are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields, and forests. The English word "orb" can mean "circular", hence the English name ...
; ''Portia'' webs are of an unusual funnel shape and apparently adapted to the capture of other spiders. ''
Spartaeus ''Spartaeus'' is a genus of Asian Salticidae, jumping spiders that was first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1891. These spiders build large sheet webs on tree trunks to capture prey, mostly moths. When walking, they wave their palps and legs in ...
'' species, though, largely capture moths in their webs. In their review of the
ethology Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objectiv ...
of the Salticidae, Richman and Jackson speculate on whether such web building is a relic of the evolution of this family from web-building ancestors. In hunting, the Salticidae also use their silk as a tether to enable them to reach prey that otherwise would be inaccessible. For example, by advancing towards the prey to less than the jumping distance, then retreating and leaping in an arc at the end of the tether line, many species can leap onto prey on vertical or even on inverted surfaces, which of course would not be possible without such a tether. Having made contact with the prey, hunting Salticidae administer a bite to inject rapid-acting venom that gives the victim little time to react. In this respect, they resemble the Mimetidae and Thomisidae, families that ambush prey that often are larger than the predator, and they do so without securing the victim with silk; they accordingly must immobilise it immediately and their venom is adapted accordingly.


Diet

Although jumping spiders are generally
carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...
, many species have been known to include
nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...
in their diets, and one species, ''
Bagheera kiplingi ''Bagheera kiplingi'' is a species of jumping spider found in Central America, including Mexico, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. It is the type species of the genus ''Bagheera'', which includes three other species, including '' B. prosper''.Platnick, ...
'', feeds primarily on plant matter. None are known to feed on seeds or fruit.
Extrafloral nectaries Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to anim ...
on plants, such as ''
Chamaecrista fasciculata ''Chamaecrista fasciculata'', the partridge pea, is a species of Fabaceae, legume native to most of the eastern United States. It is an annual which grows to approximately 0.5 meters tall. It has bright yellow flowers from early summer until fi ...
'' (partridge pea), provide jumping spiders with nectar; the plant benefits accordingly when the spiders prey on whatever pests they find. The female of the
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
n species ''
Toxeus magnus ''Toxeus magnus'' is a species of jumping-spider of the genus ''Toxeus''. It is endemic to the island of Taiwan and Southeast Asia. The species was originally classified as a part of the genus ''Myrmarachne'' in 1933 by Saitō in his work ''Note ...
'' feeds its offspring with a milky, nutritious fluid for the first 40 days of their lives.


Reproduction


Courtship and mating behavior

Jumping spiders conduct complex, visual courtship displays using both movements and physical bodily attributes. Unlike females, males possess plumose hairs, colored or iridescent hairs (particularly pronounced in the peacock spiders), front leg fringes, structures on other legs, and other, often bizarre, modifications. These characteristics are used in a courtship "dance" in which the colored or iridescent parts of the body are displayed. In addition to the display of colors, jumping spiders perform complex sliding, vibrational, or zigzag movements to attract females. Many males have auditory signals, as well. These amplified sounds presented to the females resemble buzzes or drum rolls. Species vary greatly in visual and vibratory components of courtship. Many species have patches of UV reflectance, which are exhibited in mature males.(Lim, Matthew L. M., and Daiqin Li. "Courtship and Male-Male Agonistic Behaviour of Comsophasis Umbratica Simon, an Ornate Jumping Spider (Araneae: Salticidae)." The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology (2004): 52(2): 435-448. National University of Singapore. Web. 20 September 2015.) This visual component is used by some female jumping spiders for mate choice.Bulbert, Matthew W., James C. O’Hanlon, Shane Zappettini, Shichang Zhang, and Daiqin Li. "Sexually Selected UV Signals in the Tropical Ornate Jumping Spider, ''Cosmophasis umbratica'', May Incur Costs from Predation." Ecology and Evolution (2015): 5(4): 914-920. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Web. 20 September 2015. If receptive to the male, the female assumes a passive, crouching position. In some species, the female may also vibrate her
palp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the second pair of appendages of chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicerae ("jaws") ...
s or abdomen. The male then extends his front legs towards the female to touch her. If the female remains receptive, the male climbs on her back and inseminates her with his palps.


Consequences of sexual dimorphism

Maintaining colorful ornamentation may seem strictly beneficial to sexual selection, yet costs to maintain such distinguishing characteristics occur. While colorful or UV-reflecting individuals may attract more female spiders, it can also increase the risk of predation.


Taxonomy

The
monophyly In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic grou ...
of the family Salticidae is well established through both
phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...
and morphological analyses. The sister group to Salticidae is the family
Philodromidae Philodromidae, also known as philodromid crab spiders and running crab spiders, is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Tord Tamerlan Teodor Thorell in 1870 (then known as subfamily Philodrominae within Thomisidae). It contains over ...
.
Synapomorphies In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to have ...
of the two families include loss of cylindrical gland spigots and loss of tapeta in the indirect eyes. A 2015 revision of the Salticidae family divided it into seven subfamilies: * Onomastinae Maddison, 2015 – 1 extant genus * Asemoneinae Maddison, 2015 – 4 extant genera ('' Hindumanes'', originally placed here, was moved to Lyssomaninae) * Lyssomaninae Blackwall, 1877 – 3 extant genera (including ''Hindumanes'') *
Spartaeinae The Spartaeinae are a subfamily of the spider family Salticidae (jumping spiders). The subfamily was established by Fred R. Wanless in 1984 to include the groups Boetheae, Cocaleae, Lineae, Codeteae and Cyrbeae, which in turn were defined by E ...
Wanless, 1984 – 29 extant genera in 3 tribes *
Eupoinae Eupoinae is a subfamily of jumping spiders (family Salticidae). It was created in 2015 by Wayne Maddison Wayne Paul Maddison , is a professor and Canada Research Chair at the departments of zoology and botany at the University of British Col ...
Maddison, 2015 – 3 extant genera * Hisponinae Simon, 1901 – 9 extant genera *
Salticinae Salticinae is a subfamily of jumping spiders (family Salticidae). It includes over 90% of the known species of jumping spiders. The subfamily is divided into two unranked clades: Amycoida and Salticoida. Description Members of the subfamily Sa ...
Blackwall, 1841 – about 540 extant genera in 27 tribes The Salticinae subfamily is the most diverse, comprising over 90% of the known species of jumping spiders.


Models for mimicry

Some small insects are thought to have evolved an appearance or behavioural traits that resemble those of jumping spiders and this is suspected to prevent their predation, specifically from jumping spiders. Some examples appear to be provided by patterns on the wings of some tephritid flies, the nymph of a fulgorid and possibly some moths.


Fossils

Very few jumping spider
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s have been found. Of those known, all are from
Cenozoic era The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configu ...
amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In ...
. The oldest fossils are from
Baltic amber The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than 1 ...
dating to the
Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
epoch, specifically, 54 to 42 million years ago. Other fossil jumping spiders have been preserved within
Chiapas amber Mexican amber, also known as Chiapas Amber is amber found in Mexico, created during the Early Miocene and middle Miocene epochs of the Cenozoic Era in southwestern North America. As with other ambers, a wide variety of taxa have been found as in ...
and
Dominican amber Dominican amber is amber from the Dominican Republic derived from resin of the extinct tree '' Hymenaea protera''. Dominican amber differentiates itself from Baltic amber by being nearly always transparent, and it has a higher number of fossil inc ...
.


See also

* ''Peckhamia'' (journal) *
Spider taxonomy Spider taxonomy is that part of taxonomy that is concerned with the science of naming, defining and classifying all spiders, members of the Araneae order of the arthropod class Arachnida with more than 48,500 described species. However, there ar ...


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * *


External links


Asian jumping spiders and photo references

Comprehensive resource on the morphology and taxonomy of jumping spiders (Salticidae): www.jumping-spiders.com

Global Species Database of Salticidae

Video of a jumping spider's mating behavior

World Spider Catalog





American Jumping Spiders – 70 Species Videos (includes introduction to salticids, predation, mating, and other behaviors)

Movies of ''Habronattus'' courtship behavior

The Australian Faunal Directory taxonomic classification of Australian salticids
{{Taxonbar, from=Q11687 * Extant Eocene first appearances