| Messua | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male Messua limbata | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Salticidae |
| Subfamily: | Salticinae |
| Genus: | Messua Peckham & Peckham, 1896 |
| Type species | |
| Messua desidiosa Peckham & Peckham, 1896 | |
| Species | |
Messua is a spider genus of the family Salticidae (jumping spiders).
The genus name is derived from Messua, a female character from Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book. Other salticid genera with names of Kipling's characters are Akela , Bagheera and Nagaina .
The genus was first described in 1896 by American arachnologists George and Elizabeth Peckham based on the type species Messua desidiosa . [1]
The genus Messua was synonymized with Zygoballus by Eugène Simon in 1903. After examining the type specimen for Messua desidiosa, Simon commented that it was "much less divergent from typical Zygoballus than [the Peckhams'] description would indicate." [2] This was reversed by Wayne Maddison in 1996, and Messua restored as a valid genus. Maddison also transferred several species that had previously been placed in Metaphidippus into Messua. [3]
Habronattus is a genus in the family Salticidae. Most species are native to North America. They are commonly referred to as paradise spiders due to their colorful courtship ornaments and complex dances, similar to birds-of-paradise.
Akela is a genus of jumping spiders, consisting of three described species. Two of these occur in Central and South America and the third in Pakistan.
Bagheera is a genus of jumping spiders within the family Salticidae, subfamily Salticinae and subtribe Dendryphantina. The genus was first described by George Peckham & Elizabeth Peckham in 1896. The name is derived from Bagheera, a character from Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book.
Beata is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by George Peckham & Elizabeth Peckham in 1895.
Chapoda is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by George Peckham & Elizabeth Peckham in 1896.
Corythalia is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1850.
Metaphidippus is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Frederick Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1901. The name is combined from Ancient Greek μετά "after, beside" and the salticid genus Phidippus.
Pachomius is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1896. Uspachia was merged into genus Romitia in 2007, and all nine species were merged into Pachomius in 2015. The name is derived from Pachomius, the founder of cenobitic monasticism.
Pelegrina is a spider genus of the family Salticidae. They are found throughout North America. Many of the species in Pelegrina were previously placed in the genera Metaphidippus, and before that, Dendryphantes. The genus was originally described in 1930 by the Spanish arachnologist Pelegrín Franganillo Balboa, who named it after himself.
Sidusa is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1895.
Thiodina is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1900.
Zygoballus is a genus of jumping spiders found in North and South America.
The Dendryphantina are a subtribe of jumping spiders that occur mainly in the New World. The subtribe was first defined by Anton Menge in 1879 as Dendryphantidae. Females of the subtribe generally show paired spots on the abdomen, and the males often have enlarged chelicerae. Females in this subtribe typically have S-shaped epigynal openings.
Euophryini is a tribe of jumping spiders. It has also been treated as the subfamily Euophryinae.
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. B. kiplingi is notable for its peculiar diet, which is mostly herbivorous. No other known species of omnivorous spider has such a markedly herbivorous diet.
Zygoballus sexpunctatus is a species of jumping spider which occurs in the southeastern United States where it can be found in a variety of grassy habitats. Adult spiders measure between 3 and 4.5 mm in length. The cephalothorax and abdomen are bronze to black in color, with reddish brown or yellowish legs. The male has distinctive enlarged chelicerae and front femora. Like many jumping spiders, Z. sexpunctatus males exhibit ritualized courtship and agonistic behavior.
Zygoballus rufipes, commonly called the hammerjawed jumper, is a species of jumping spider which occurs in the United States, Canada, and Central America. Adult females are 4.3 to 6 mm in body length, while males are 3 to 4 mm.
Zygoballus incertus is a species of jumping spider which occurs in Panama.
Colonus is a genus of spiders in the jumping spider family, Salticidae. Colonus species are endemic to North and South America, ranging from New York to Argentina. All members of the genus have two pairs of bulbous spines on the ventral side of the first tibiae. The function of these spines is unknown. Colonus was declared a junior synonym of Thiodina by Eugène Simon in 1903, but this was reversed by Bustamante, Maddison, and Ruiz in 2015.