''Salticus cingulatus'' is 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 ...

jumping spider of the family Salticidae.

Description

The female ''Salticus cingulatus'' has a body length of 5.2–5.5 mm while the male's is 3.4–6 mm. On the male the palpal bulb is distally forked, with a long visible part. On the female the

epigyne The epigyne or epigynum is the external genital structure of female spiders. As the epigyne varies greatly in form in different species, even in closely related ones, it often provides the most distinctive characteristic for recognizing species. ...

is strongly sclerotized, the anterior part opaque. The prosoma is black, with white spots, and the opisthosoma is black, but largely covered with white hairs. It is similar to ''

Salticus scenicus The zebra jumping spider (''Salticus scenicus'') is a common jumping spider of the Northern Hemisphere. Their common name refers to their vivid black-and-white colouration, whilst their scientific name derives from ''Salticus'' from the Latin fo ...

'' but it is normally distinguished by being much paler due to more white hairs on the prosoma.

Habitat and ecology

The favoured habitat of ''Salticus cingulatus'' is old tree trunks and fence palings situated in sunny situations in or close to woodland, fens and heathland. It is frequently encountered on

pines A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

. It is occasionally encountered on buildings. Males are active in May and June, females mostly between May and July, but they occasionally persist until autumn.

Distribution

''Salticus cingulatus'' has a Palearctic distribution. It is found throughout Europe except Iceland. It is a widely distributed species in Great Britain but with only scattered records on the west, south-east and the far north.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1764401 Salticidae Spiders of Europe Spiders of Asia Spiders described in 1797 Palearctic spiders