Carrhotus xanthogramma

Carrhotus xanthogramma
Carrhotus xanthogramma, male
Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Salticidae
Genus: Carrhotus
Species: C. xanthogramma
Binomial name
Carrhotus xanthogramma
(Latreille, 1819)
Synonyms

Carrhotus xanthogramma is a species of 'jumping spiders' belonging to the family Salticidae.

Distribution

Its distribution is palearctic, including a portion of Europe (Portugal, Spain, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia ]], Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece), in Turkey, Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Russia, China, Mongolia, South Korea and Japan.[1][2]

Habitat

These thermophilic spiders prefer sunny, warm environments. They can mainly be encountered on bushes, on tree trunks and shrubbery.[3]

Description

Male, dorsal view

The adult males of these jumping spiders reach approximately 5.1–7.1 millimetres (0.20–0.28 in) of length, while females can reach a body length of about 7.1–9.0 millimetres (0.28–0.35 in).[3] These spiders are covered with dense hair. The sexual dimorphism of this species is pronounced.

The males are smaller than females. They have a black bright cephalothorax (prosoma) and an hairy, flattened and tapered, reddish-orange abdomen (opisthosoma). The separation between cephalothorax (prosoma) and abdomen (opisthosoma) is well marked. Their black legs may have slightly orange rings. Palps are black haired. [4]

The female's body, according to the mimicry strategy, is mostly brownish, with dark brown markings. There is a yellowish area on a blackish front head, that includes an arcuate bandage extending from one side-eye to the other, encircling the entire back of the fore-body.

The abdomen is oval and slightly tapered. It is predominantly yellowish, with narrow, dark brownish longitudinal V-shaped stripes and spots. Legs are light-dark annulated. Palps are light brown with long white hairs. [4] They have eight eyes with very large anterior median eyes. [5]

Biology

Adults can be found in spring and summer, from April to July. [4] They actively pursue their preys, jumping on them. Their eyesight is excellent and very useful in their way of hunting.

Bibliography

  • Forster, L.M. (1982) - Vision and prey-catching strategies in jumping spiders - American Scientist 70: 165-175.
  • Fang WY, Wang ZL, Li C, Yang XQ, Yu XP - The complete mitogenome of a jumping spider Carrhotus xanthogramma (Araneae: Salticidae) and comparative analysis in four salticid mitogenomes.
  • Heiko Bellmann: Der Kosmos Spinnenführer. Über 400 Arten Europas (= Kosmos Naturführer). Kosmos, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-440-10114-8, S. 294.
  • Latreille, P. A. Articles sur les araignées. N. Dict. hist. nat. Paris. Ed. II, Paris, 22.
  • Maekawa, T. & Ikeda, H. (1992). Sexual behavior of a gynandromorphic spider of Carrhotus xanthogramma (Araneae: Salticidae). Acta Arachnologica 41: 103-108

References

  1. ↑ "Carrhotus xanthogramma". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  2. ↑ Fauna europaea
  3. 1 2 Spiders of Europe - Araneae
  4. 1 2 3 Arachnophoto
  5. ↑ Jerzy Proszynski Salticidae: Diagnostic Drawings Library
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