Mopsus mormon

This article is about a species of spider. For other uses, see Mopsus (disambiguation).

Mopsus mormon
Mopsus mormon female from the Kimberley region of Western Australia
Mopsus mormon male from Queensland, Australia. The 'whiskers' and 'topknot' are visible.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Salticidae
Subfamily: Salticinae
Genus: Mopsus
Karsch, 1878[1]
Species:
M. mormon
Binomial name
Mopsus mormon
Karsch, 1878[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Ascyltus penicillatus
  • Mopsus penicillatus

Mopsus mormon is an Australian spider species of the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). It is the sole species in the genus Mopsus. It is found in New Guinea and eastern Australia.[1] It is commonly called the green jumping spider.

Description

Female Mopsus mormon eating a fly

At 12 mm (female), this is one of Australia's larger jumping spiders, and very common in Queensland. It also occurs in New Guinea, northern New South Wales, the Northern Territory, northern Tasmania and Western Australia.

The males are strikingly coloured and decorated with long white "side whiskers", which rise to a peak surmounted by a topknot of black hairs.[2] Females lack the whiskers and topknot, but instead feature a red and white "mask".

Behaviour

This species shows an amazingly complex display repertoire, in some respects similar to that of several Phidippus species (P. johnsoni, P. comatus) and Portia fimbriata. However, this is likely to be convergent evolution. Alternative mating tactics have been described,[2] depending on the location of the female. If she is away from her nest, a type of courtship common with many other species is observed. If she is found at a nest, probing and other behaviours similar to Phidippus johnsoni occur. This second courtship seems not to depend on vision. Like many other salticids, the adult lives together with the subadult female in an adjacent nest until it matures, then mates with her inside her nest.

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d "Gen. Mopsus Karsch, 1878". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  2. ^ a b Jackson 1983

References

  • Jackson, R.R. (1983): The Biology of Mopsus mormon, a Jumping Spider (Araneae: Salticidae) from Queensland: Intraspecific Interactions. Aust. J. Zool. 31: 39-53. Abstract
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