Uloboridae is a family of non-venomous spiders, known as cribellate orb weavers or hackled orb weavers. Their lack of venom glands is a secondarily evolved trait. Instead, they wrap their prey thoroughly in silk, cover it in regurgitated digestive enzymes, and then ingest the liquified body.
Uloborus plumipes is a species of Old World cribellate spider in the family Uloboridae. Common names include the feather-legged lace weaver and the garden centre spider, the latter name being due to its frequent occurrence of this spider in garden centres. The species name is derived from the Latin pluma "feather" and pes "foot".
Saitis barbipes is a common jumping spider found in the Mediterranean region.
Oxyopes lineatus is a species of spider in the family Oxyopidae, the so-called lynx spiders.
Progradungula otwayensis, commonly known as the Otway odd-clawed spider, is a species of cribellate spider endemic to the Great Otway National Park of Victoria, Australia. It is one of only three species in the gradungulid genus Progradungula.
Hyptiotes paradoxus, also known as the triangle spider, is a cribellate orbweaver in the family Uloboridae.
Icius insolidus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Icius that lives in Namibia and South Africa. First described in 1999 by Wanda Wesołowska and allocated to the genus Menemerus, the species was transferred to its current genus in 2006. It lives in rocky environments, primarily granite rocks and boulders, but also the walls of gardens. It is small spider, with a carapace between 1.8 and 2.4 mm long and an abdomen is between 1.7 and 2.4 mm. It is very dark brown or black. The male carapace and abdomen have a white stripe down the middle. The female abdomen has a vague leaf-like pattern on it. The male has a prominent tooth on the base of the chelicerae. It is this tooth that helps distinguish the species from others in the genus. The female epigyne has two widely separated rounded depressions. The species lives in nests, and the male and female will often share a nest after mating.
Afraflacilla roberti is a species of jumping spider in the genus Afraflacilla that is found in Kenya. The spider was first defined in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska. She originally placed the species in the genus Pseudicius, but Jerzy Prószyński moved it in 2017 to Afraflacilla on the basis of shape of its copulatory organs. The species is named after Robert Jackson, the collector who found the first example. The spider is small, with a cephalothorax between 1.7 and 1.6 mm long and an abdomen between 1.7 and 2.4 mm long. The female is larger than the male. The carapace is a dark brown elongated oval with a black eye field covered in white hairs. The abdomen is blackish-brown and is marked by two pairs of white patches and a small number of faint chevrons at the very rear. Some female examples have a generally featureless dark abdomen and others have additional small rounded patches at the edge. Some have light stripes to the front of the abdomen. The spider has yellow legs, apart from the front pair, which are brown, longer and stouter. It stridulates using its legs and carapace. Afraflacilla roberti can be differentiated from other species in the genus by its copulatory organs. The male has a long thin tibial apophysis. The female has narrow coiled insemination ducts.
Evarcha aposto is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that lives in Ethiopia and Nigeria. The species was first described in 2008 by Wanda Wesołowska and Beata Tomasiewicz. It is named for the place in Ethiopia where it was first found. The spider is small, with a cephalothorax measuring between 1.9 and 2.2 mm long and an abdomen between 1.8 and 1.9 mm long. The carapace is generally light, yellow or fawn, with a dark stripe down the middle and occasionally a thin stripe to the rear. The abdomen is yellow with a pattern of darker patches. It has a black eye field. The front legs are darker, brown in the case of those found in Nigeria and black for the Ethiopian examples. The remaining legs have a distinctive top half that is black or brown, the remainder being yellow. Its copulatory organs are distinctive, particularly the male's very short embolus, which is accompanied by a spoon-like appendage. The female has not been described.
Afraflacilla refulgens is a species of jumping spider in the genus Afraflacilla that lives in Zimbabwe. It lives in loose conglomerations in nests of white papery silk and is particularly visible in September and October. The males will display to each other, but will retreat if they feel threatened. A small spider, it has a dark carapace that is between 1.7 and 2.2 mm long and an abdomen between 1.9 and 3.0 mm long. It has a very dark, nearly black, eye field, although the male has a very thin white line behind the first row of eyes. The legs are generally yellow, apart from the front pair on the male, which are brown, longer and stouter and used for stridulation. The male abdomen is black with a pattern of white spots. The female abdomen is very dark brown, nearly black at the front and yellow to the rear. Both have a distinctive iridescent patch at the back of the abdomen that is recalled in the name of the species, which is a Latin word that can be translated "brilliant". It is this iridescent patch that helps to distinguish the species, although a study of the copulatory organs is needed to confirm its identity. The spider was first described in 2008 by Wanda Wesołowska and Meg Cumming. Originally allocated to the genus Pseudicius, it was moved to its current name by Jerzy Prószyński in 2016.
Evarcha bakorensis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that lives in Guinea, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. It thrives in savanna grasslands. The species was first described in 2002 by Christine Rollard and Wanda Wesołowska. The spider is small, with a cephalothorax measuring between 1.6 and 1.8 mm long and an abdomen that is between 1.3 and 1.9 mm long. The female is larger than the male. The cephalothorax has a light brown topside, or carapace, yellow underside, or sternum, and darker sides. The abdomen is greyish-brown or brown and has a lighter pattern on it. The spider has generally brown legs. It has distinctive copulatory organs. The female has a large membrane in the centre of its epigyne while the male has a straight and blunt tibial apophysis, or projection on its palpal tibia.
Evarcha maculata is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that lives in Guinea, Ivory Coast and Ethiopia. It has been found in savanna in the Guinea Highlands and near bodies of water like the Awash River. The species was first described in 2002 by Christine Rollard and Wanda Wesołowska. The spider is small, with a cephalothorax measuring between 1.7 and 2.3 mm long and an abdomen that is between 1.6 and 3.6 mm long. The female is generally larger than the male, although there are exceptions, particularly amongst those found in Guinea. The cephalothorax has a yellowish topside, or carapace, with a darker eye field, and a yellow or yellowish-orange, or sternum. The abdomen has a distinctive pattern that is basically shaped like a capital "H", referred to in the species name, which can be translated "spotted". The spider has orange or yellow legs. It has distinctive copulatory organs. The female has distinctively shaped insemination ducts. The male has a very short curved embolus.
Thiratoscirtus bipaniculus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Thiratoscirtus that lives in Nigeria. The species was first described in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska and Russell-Smith. The holotype was found on Obudu Plateau, Cross River State at an altitude of 1,900 m (6,200 ft) above sea level. Only the female has been described. It is a medium-sized spider, with a wider cephalothorax that is typically 2.6 mm long and a thinner abdomen that is 2.5 mm in length, both oval in shape. The mouthparts include powerful chelicerae with teeth that have multiple points and a short fang. It can be distinguished from other spiders in the genus by its copulatory organs, particularly the long thin insemination ducts and the presence of slightly sclerotized structures in the middle of the epigyne and two tufts of hair on the edges. The last of those features are recalled in the name for the species.
Thiratoscirtus gambari is a species of jumping spider in the genus Thiratoscirtus that lives in the forests of Nigeria. The species was first described in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska and Russell-Smith. Female examples included at the time were later discovered to have been misidentified and so only a description of the male is available. It is a medium-sized spider, with a wider cephalothorax that is typically between 3.4 and 4.7 mm long and an abdomen that is 3.2 and 4.5 mm in length, both oval in shape. It is generally dark brown and grey on top and brownish-orange underneath, although some examples have a lighter underside to their abdomen, and has yellow to brown legs with brown hairs and spines. Its fang is unusual in having small angular features near its base. The spider also has distinctive copulatory organs that enable it to be distinguished from other members of the genus, particularly the relatively wide club-like tibial apophysis, or protrusion on its palpal tibia, and the wing-like appendages on its cymbium.
Evarcha arabica is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that lives in Yemen. The species was first described in 2007 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. The spider is small, with a carapace that measures between 2.1 and 2.7 mm long and an abdomen that is between 1.8 and 3.2 mm long. The female is generally larger and lighter than the male. The spider's eye field is darker. The top of the male abdomen is blackish-brown with a pattern of white dots and a large yellowish-orange belt. The top of the female abdomen has similar white dots but is mainly yellow with small darker dots. The male's legs are brown and yellow while the female's are orange to yellow. It has distinctive copulatory organs. The female has accessory glands near the copulatory openings and simple bean-like spermathecae. The male has a thin embolus and a tibial apophysis that has a forked tip.
The Fayda Jumper or Afraflacilla fayda is a species of jumping spider in the genus Afraflacilla that lives in the United Arab Emirates. The spider was first described in 2010 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. The spider is small, with an cephalothorax that is typically 1.8 mm (0.07 in) and an abdomen typically 2.9 mm (0.11 in) long. The female has a distinctive design on its abdomen that includes a pattern of an indistinct light patch in the centre and two light patches to the rear on a greyish-beige background, darker to the end. In comparison, the carapace is a uniform brown with a darker brown eye field. The spider's legs are yellow, the first legs being larger and featuring stridulatory apparatus. It has distinctive copulatory organs. The female has long winding insemination ducts and large spermathecae. The male has not been described.
Menemerus cummingorum is a species of jumping spider in the genus Menemerus that lives in Zimbabwe. The species was first described in 2007 by Wanda Wesołowska, one of over 500 descriptions she has written during her lifetime. It is medium-sized spider, with a flattened cephalothorax that is between 2.2 and 2.4 mm and an oval abdomen between 2.3 and 2.9 mm long. The female has a larger abdomen than the male. It is also dark brown and marked with a large yellow leaf-shaped pattern compared to the yellowish-grey of the male. Both the male and female have a dark brown carapace, with a pattern of white streaks, a line and five patches, although the pattern is more pronounced on the male. It has yellow legs, the foremost pair being darker and having brown patches. It is similar to the related Menemerus minshullae, but larger.
Evarcha denticulata is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that is endemic to South Africa. It is ground-dwelling spider, thriving in the fynbos found in the Eastern Cape. The spider is small, with a rounded cephalothorax that is usually between 2.1 and 2.5 mm long and an ovoid abdomen that is between 1.8 and 3.4 mm long. The female has a larger abdomen than the male. It is also lighter, with a pattern of grey patches visible on its yellow background. The male is generally blackish-brown. Both have three lines of white hairs on the spider's cheeks. The male Evarcha denticulata has a distinctive tooth on the spike, or apophysis, that emanates from its palpal tibia, which is recalled in the specific name. The species was first described in 2013 by Wanda Wesołowska and Charles Hadded.
Pochyta maddisoni is a species of jumping spider in the genus Pochyta that lives in Gabon. A small spider, it was first described in 2021 by Wanda Wesołowska and Tamás Szűts. It has an oval cephalothorax that is between 2.1 and 2.9 mm long and an ovoid abdomen, between 2.3 and 2.9 mm long. It has eyes that are surrounded by dark rings, particularly the female. The female is lighter than the male, with the top of the cephalothorax and abdomen being yellow along with its legs. The male has a dark brown carapace and yellowish-grey abdomen. Its front pair of legs are darker than the others and marked with long spines. All the spider's have yellow spinnerets. The spider has distinctive copulatory organs, with the male having a broad spade-like appendage on the palpal tibia called a tibial apophysis and the female a large pocket on its epigyne.
Pochyta tendicula is a species of jumping spider in the genus Pochyta that lives in Gabon. A small spider, it was first described in 2021 by Wanda Wesołowska and Tamás Szűts. It has a light brown oval cephalothorax that is typically 2.4 mm long and has eyes that are surrounded by dark rings. It has an ovoid abdomen, typically 2.2 mm long, that is generally greyish-beige on top and grey underneath. Its front pair of legs are longer than the others and marked with long spines. The male has distinctive copulatory organs, with a long embolus that projects from a small palpal bulb, and a small curved spike in the palpal tibia called a retrolateral tibial apophysis. The female has not been described.
