Cyrba

Last updated

Cyrba
Cyrba algerina.jpg
Cyrba algerina
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Salticidae
Subfamily: Spartaeinae
Genus: Cyrba
Simon, 1876
Type species
Salticus algerinus
Lucas, 1846
Species

See text.

Cyrba is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). The genus was erected by Hippolyte Lucas in 1846.

Contents

Description

Cyrba spiders are small to medium size spiders that are usually brightly colored. Their cephalothorax is long and moderately high. The eyes are lateral. The abdomen is long with bright colorful patterns. Their legs are thin and slender. [1] The genus has been described as primitive because of their pervasive use of webs, large posterior median eyes, and the secretory organs on the femora of males. These characteristics were lost by advanced salticids. The genus are also almost wholly dependent on their vision. [2] The primary mating season for the spider C. algerina is May. Juveniles emerge in July, grow to about half the adult size by winter, and then grow to adult size in the spring of the following year. [3] The genus is commonly found on very rocky ground under rocks, or less often walking around on the ground or on the tops of rocks. [4]

Silk and eggs

The spider spins silk on which to moult. Cyrba makes an egg sac by spinning a thick silk sheet on the side of a rock, and then ovipositing the eggs in the center, covering them with another layer of silk. The egg sacs have clusters of white spots. Cyrba spiders generally stay with their eggs until they hatch. In a laboratory, they do not spin silk for moulting or resting. [5]

Diet

Spiders in this genus feed on other spiders, and prefer them to insects. They also feed on any insect that is caught in their silk. In a laboratory test to see if Cyrba spiders would attack other salticids, they did not. [6] The spider C. algerina is the only spider in the genus that is known to hunt at night. [3]

Species

As of July 2020, the World Spider Catalog accepted 9 species:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jumping spider</span> Family of spiders

Jumping spiders are a group of spiders that constitute the family Salticidae. As of 2019, this family contained over 600 described genera and over 6,000 described species, making it the largest family of spiders at 13% of all species. Jumping spiders have some of the best vision among arthropods 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. 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.

<i>Portia</i> (spider) Genus of spiders

Portia is a genus of jumping spider that feeds on other spiders. They are remarkable for their intelligent hunting behaviour, which suggests that they are capable of learning and problem solving, traits normally attributed to much larger animals.

<i>Portia labiata</i> Species of spider

Portia labiata is a jumping spider found in Sri Lanka, India, southern China, Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia, Singapore, Java, Sumatra and the Philippines. In this medium-sized jumping spider, the front part is orange-brown and the back part is brownish. The conspicuous main eyes provide vision more acute than a cat's during the day and 10 times more acute than a dragonfly's, and this is essential in P. labiata′s navigation, hunting and mating.

<i>Phidippus audax</i> Species of arachnid (type of jumping spider)

Phidippus audax, the bold jumper or 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. Like all jumping spiders, they have excellent stereoscopic vision that aids them in stalking prey and facilitates visual communication with potential mates during courting. Bold jumping spiders are native to North America and have been introduced to Hawaii, Nicobar Islands, Azores, and the Netherlands. They are typically black with a distinct white triangle on their abdomen.

<i>Brettus</i> Genus of spiders

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.

<i>Cocalus</i> (spider) Genus of spiders

Cocalus is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1846, and is named after Cocalus, a Sicilian king of Greek mythology.

Paracyrba is a genus of jumping spiders found only in Malaysia. It contains only one species, Paracyrba wanlessi. Its microhabitat are the water-filled hollow internodes of decaying bamboo, where it preys for aquatic animals, especially mosquito larvae. P. wanlessi and Evarcha culicivora, a jumping spider, are the only two spiders that have been experimentally studied and considered a mosquito specialist. E. culicivora indirectly feeds vertebrate blood by preying female mosquitos that carry blood. In general only one specimen is found per occupied bamboo internode.

<i>Phaeacius</i> Genus of spiders

Phaeacius is a spider genus of the family Salticidae, found in sub-tropical China and between India and the Malay Peninsula, including Sri Lanka, Sumatra and the Philippines. Although other spiders can jump, salticids including Phaeacius have significantly better vision than other spiders, and their main eyes are more acute in daylight than a cat's and 10 times more acute than a dragonfly's. The main eyes focus accurately on an object at distances from approximately 2 centimetres (0.79 in) to infinity, and in practice can see up to about 75 centimetres (30 in). They do not spin webs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spartaeinae</span> Subfamily of spiders

The Spartaeinae are a subfamily of the spider family Salticidae. 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 Eugène Simon.

<i>Maevia inclemens</i> Species of spider

Maevia inclemens or the Dimorphic Jumping Spider is a relatively common and colorful jumping spider of North America. In the males there are two forms, a very rare phenomenon in zoology. These use different courting displays, and differ in appearance: the "tufted" morph has a black body and pedipalps ("palps"), three black tufts across its "head", and pale legs; and the "gray" morph has black and white stripes all over its body and legs, orange palps, and no tufts. However, each form accounts for 50% of the adult males, and they are equally successful in mating. A female of Maevia inclemens is 6.5 to 8.0 millimetres long, while males are 4.75 to 6.50 millimetres long.

<i>Anasaitis canosa</i> Species of spider

Anasaitis canosa, previously of the genus Corythalia, is a small jumping spider that can typically be found atop leaf-litter or man-made structures such as fences and exterior walls. This species is more commonly known as the twin-flagged jumping spider due to the two pennant shaped markings on the dorsal side of the cephalothorax. Typical of the genus Anasaitis, this species has iridescent setae ("scales") which may appear white, green or pink which create the "flags" as well as patches on the male pedipalps used in courtship and intraspecific signaling. This species is roughly 5 to 6 mm in length. A. canosa ranges from Mexico to South Carolina along the Gulf of Mexico.

<i>Portia fimbriata</i> Species of spider

Portia fimbriata, sometimes called the fringed jumping spider, is a jumping spider found in Australia and Southeast Asia. Adult females have bodies 6.8 to 10.5 millimetres long, while those of adult males are 5.2 to 6.5 millimetres long. Both sexes have a generally dark brown carapace, reddish brown chelicerae ("fangs"), a brown underside, dark brown palps with white hairs, and dark brown abdomens with white spots on the upper side. Both sexes have fine, faint markings and soft fringes of hair, and the legs are spindly and fringed. However, specimens from New Guinea and Indonesia have orange-brown carapaces and yellowish abdomens. In all species of the genus Portia, the abdomen distends when the spider is well fed or producing eggs.

<i>Portia schultzi</i> Species of spider

Portia schultzi is a species of jumping spider which ranges from South Africa in the south to Kenya in the north, and also is found in West Africa and Madagascar. In this species, which is slightly smaller than some other species of the genus Portia, the bodies of females are 5 to 7 mm long, while those of males are 4 to 6 mm long. The carapaces of both sexes are orange-brown with dark brown mottling, and covered with dark brown and whitish hairs lying over the surface. Males have white tufts on their thoraces and a broad white band above the bases of the legs, and these features are less conspicuous in females. Both sexes have tufts of orange to dark orange above the eyes, which are fringed with pale orange hairs. Males' abdomens are yellow-orange to orange-brown with blackish mottling, and on the upper sides are black and light orange hairs, and nine white tufts. Those of females are pale yellow and have black markings with scattered white and orange-brown hairs on the upper side. P. schultzi has relatively longer legs than other Portia, and a "lolloping" gait.

Portia africana is a jumping spider found in Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Zaire and Zambia. Its conspicuous main eyes provide vision more acute than a cat's during the day and 10 times more acute than a dragonfly's, and this is essential in P. africana′s navigation, hunting and mating.

Brettus adonis, is a species of spider of the genus Brettus. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.

Gelotia lanka is a species of jumping spider of the genus Gelotia. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.

Brettus cingulatus is a species of jumping spider of the genus Brettus. It is found in Myanmar and India.

<i>Lyssomanes viridis</i> Species of spider

Lyssomanes viridis, commonly known as the magnolia green jumper, is a species of jumping spider of the genus Lyssomanes, for which it is the type species. The species is native to the United States, being found in much of the Southeastern United States as far north as Pennsylvania and down into parts of Texas.

Fred R. Wanless was a British arachnologist. Active in the field especially in the seventies and eighties of the 20th century, he described several dozen taxa, in particular among the spiders of the Salticidae family. Wanless played a significant role in the British Arachnological Society being its member in 1969–1973, 1974–1976 and 1986–1989, and Meetings Secretary in 1973–1978. From 1973 to 1988 he described 137 new species and 13 new genera.

References

  1. Sebastian, P. A.; Peter, K.V. (2009). Spiders of India. Universities Press. p. 288. ISBN   9788173716416.
  2. Wanless, F.R. (1984). "A revision of the spider genus Cyrba (Araneae: Salticidae) with the description of a new presumptive pheromone dispersing organ". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Zoology. 47: 445–481. doi: 10.5962/p.21842 . Retrieved 2010-05-13.
  3. 1 2 Guseinov, Elchin F.; Cerveira, Ana M.; Jackson, Robert R. (2004). "The predatory strategy, natural diet, and life cycle of Cyrba algerina, an araneophagic jumping spider (Salticidae: Spartaeinae) from Azerbaijan". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 31 (4): 291. doi:10.1080/03014223.2004.9518382.
  4. Robert R. Jackson: "Predatory versatility and intraspecific interactions of Cyrba algerina and Cyrba ocellata, web-invading spartaeine jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae)" in: New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 1990, Vol. 17, pp. 157-168
  5. New Zealand Journal of Zoology (1900). New Zealand Journal of Zoology. pp. 158–159.
  6. New Zealand Journal of Zoology (1900). Jackson. p. 157.