Wolf spiders are members of the family Lycosidae. They are robust and agile hunters with excellent eyesight. They live mostly in solitude, hunt alone, and do not spin webs. Some are opportunistic hunters, pouncing upon prey as they find it or chasing it over short distances; others wait for passing prey in or near the mouth of a burrow.
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.
Huntsman spiders, members of the family Sparassidae, are known by this name because of their speed and mode of hunting. They are also called giant crab spiders because of their size and appearance. Larger species sometimes are referred to as wood spiders, because of their preference for woody places. In southern Africa the genus Palystes are known as rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders. Commonly, they are confused with baboon spiders from the Mygalomorphae infraorder, which are not closely related.
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.
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.
Aelurillus is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae.
Cyrba is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae. The genus was erected by Hippolyte Lucas in 1846.
Euryattus is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae.
Neon is a spider genus of the jumping spider family, Salticidae. Its described species occur mostly in Eurasia, with some species found in North and South America. One species, N. convolutus, is also found in Algeria. Two species are known from Australia, N. australis and N. taylori. N. australis has palp morphology and fringing on its first pair of legs very similar to that seen in N. nojimai Ikeda 1995, from Japan. N. taylori is most similar in morphology to N. sumatranus from Indonesia and N. kovblyuki from the Crimea and elsewhere. The genus is common and widespread in litter throughout Australia, from the highlands of Tasmania through the hot, dry inland to the wet tropics and includes many undescribed species.
Thiania is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1846.
Thyene is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1885. It is a junior synonym of Mithion, and senior synonym of Brancus, Paramodunda and Gangus.
Yllenus is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1868. Until 2019, it was considered a senior synonym of Pseudomogrus, and many of the species formerly placed here were transferred to new genera Logunyllus and Marusyllus by Jerzy Prószyński in 2016.
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.
Thiania bhamoensis is a species of jumping spider.
Spider fighting or spider derby is a sport involving spiders that occurs in different forms in several areas of the world. Among them are the Philippines, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. The fights that occur in the Philippines and in Japan are staged between females of various species of web weavers. Female spiders will kill a rival if the loser does not quickly flee or receive the aid of a human handler. The contests that are staged in Singapore and Malaysia are fights between male jumping spiders. The males fight only for dominance, and ordinarily the loser will flee, though sometimes they will lose a leg in the fight.
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 are commonly spotted on green vegetation. C. umbratica shows extreme dimorphism when viewed under UV light: males reflect UV on all body parts that are displayed during intraspecific interaction, while females and juveniles do not reflect UV at all. It seems that C. umbratica uses this in sexual signaling. A similar phenomenon is found in some butterflies. For example, several species of Colias and Gonepteryx, both of the family Pieridae, also display sexual signaling.
Phidippus otiosus is a species of jumping spider that is found in southeastern North America. It is primarily a tree-living species. Females reach a body length of about 16 mm. Its iridescent chelicerae can range in color from purple to green.
Trite planiceps, commonly known as the black-headed jumping spider, is a common jumping spider (Salticidae) endemic to New Zealand and one of about 150 species of jumping spiders in New Zealand.
Phidippus Clarus, also known as the Brilliant Jumping Spider, is a species of jumping spider found in old fields throughout eastern North America. It often waits upside down near the top of a plant, which may be useful for detecting prey, and then quickly jumps down before the prey can escape. The spider is one of 60 species in the genus Phidippus, and one of about 5,000 in the Salticidae, a family that accounts for about 10% of all spider species. P. clarus is a predator, mostly consuming insects, other spiders, and other terrestrial arthropods.
Wanda Wesołowska is a Polish zoologist known for her work with jumping spiders. She has described more species of jumping spider than any contemporary writer, and is second only to Eugène Simon in the history of arachnology. Originally a student of ornithology, she developed an interest in jumping spiders while still a student at the Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities in the 1970s. She published her first work in 1981, which included the description of nine new species of spiders, the first in what would be a prolific career. She moved to the University of Wroclaw to continue her study, and completed her doctoral thesis that described 44 new species of genus Heliophanus. She joined the staff at the university, staying until she retired in 2020. Her research has focused on the description, taxonomy and zoogeography of jumping spiders, and has included extensive work on African genera like Menemerus and Pachyballus. She has identified over 500 species, including half of all those from South Africa, as well as having more than 20 named after her.
