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Most salticids, 5000 or more species, live in the tropics. In Australia 76 genera and 252 described species are present. The spiders are daylight hunters and can be easily spotted. Their size is relatively small (3-20 mm) but most of them are smaller than 10 mm. A lot of them are coloured beautifully.

The salticids live for the most part on vegetation. The rectangular thorax, stout body, the rather short legs, their distinctive eye arrangement and their jumping capabilities make them one of the most easily recognizable families.

Some species exhibit an amazing resemblance with ants and are called "ant like" spiders. They belong to the genus Myrmarachne.
This one was found in Australia. Because of its resemblance to ants, it can walk between them without being attacked.

The spider can be found everywhere if the sun is shining, on trees, grass and rocks. At night or during rainfall the spiders hide in a dry spot under a small web. Myrmarachne striatipes, ant mimicking spider Their large eyes give them excellent eyesight. As most spiders they also have four pairs of eyes. Two large ones in de middle and two small ones are looking forward. Above the front row is a second row of two tiny eyes and behind these there is a set of two large eyes looking upward. All these eyes give them a 360-degree eyesight. Spiders have singular eyes like mammals, unlike the insects that have compound eyes. The eyes can move out or inwards for focusing and they can turn up and down and left and right. The spider can also turn its carapace (breast) more than 45 degrees to look around. Prey can be noticed from a distance of about 30 - 40 cm. At a distance of 20 cm the spider turns its body so that the two front eyes points to the insect. The muscles in the eye focus the eye on the prey and the eye moves around their optical axis. In this way the spiders scans the object like a modern scanner. The effect is extraordinary. The eyesight is enhanced like a zoom lens and it is capable to adjust its looking angle from 10 to 60 degrees. In experiments it was shown that the spider is capable to distinct dangerous insects and prey. The eyes are also capable to see colour. After the object is recognized as eatable the spider carefully moves towards it victim. As you can see the on the picture they also catch prey, much bigger than themselves. It was spectacular to see the little Salticus scenicus catching the big fly.

Salticids are the tigers among spiders. The spider slowly advances towards its prey. When it is at a reachable distance, it jumps on its prey and grabs it with its jaws. They use their third and/or fourth pair of legs for jumping. If you notice the spider on a wall, often the Salticus scenicus, it seems as mocks at gravity. It jumps of the walls and falls back on it several centimeters further instead of falling down. This is because of its lifeline. If you watch the spider carefully, you can notice that it always releases a lifeline when it jumps. If the jump fails it can crawl back to its original position and it prevents the spider from falling down.
Jumping spiders do not make webs to catch prey.
They do use a silken retreat of thick, white, slightly viscid silk in crevices, under stones on the ground, under bark or on the foliage and plants. Many retreat to these little white bags at night or during winter to hibernate. The females lay their eggs in these retreats mostly in spring and summer.

Jumping spiders are not toxic.

Arasia ZZ055	Arasia ZZ056

Found on eucalyptus bark between Emerald and Clermont, Queensland

Genus Cosmophasis

The head of this spider has a metallic green and black coloring. The chelicera (jaws) are extremely long. It waves with it white palps very quickly.

Cosmophasis micarioides	Cosmophasis micarioides
Cosmophasis ZZ032	Cosmophasis ZZ034
Cosmophasis ZZ058	Cosmophasis ZZ059

Genus Cytaea

Cytaea ZZ054	Cytaea ZZ036
Cytaea ZZ031	Cytaea ZZ031

Euryattus ZZ029	Euryattus ZZ029
Euryattus ZZ030	Euryattus ZZ030

Three species occur in this genus in Australia. These spiders are active hunters on leaves during the day in shaded situations.

Helpis minitabunda male The common name of this spider is Bronze aussie jumper. The spider is between 8 - 10 mm and the male are larger than the females. Females have another and lighter colour pattern. The males front pair legs are longest. These spiders ocuur in QLD and NSW

A small jumping spider, with a body adpated for entering cracks and folds in bark. This spider can be found in the cracks and folds in bark, especially the eucalypt bark. Its long slender body is adapted to its surroundings.

Holoplatys ZZ026	Holoplatys ZZ026
Holoplatys ZZ125	Holoplatys ZZ138
Holoplatys ZZ065

Holoplatys ZZ041 was found under the bark of a tree near Brisbie Island. The spider was hidden beneath a sheet of silk.

Genus Maratus formerly Saitis

This male' peacock spider', Maratus volans, is one of Australia's spectacular spiders. The spider has a cape or flaps around its abdomen. He was falsely named 'gliding spider' because it was thought the spider could glide on his flaps through the air. When the brightly coloured male courts with his relatively duller mate he expands his flaps like a peacock's tails and raises his with white hairs tipped legs. A spectacular courtship dance of this 'peacock spider'. More info and pictures here --->
Maratus volans QLD (was Saitis volans). Peacock spider	Maratus volans QLD (was Saitis volans). Peacock spider
Maratus pavonis WA Picture by Farhan Bokhari	Maratus pavonis WA Picture by Farhan Bokhari

A genus with only one spider named Mopsus mormon, formerly also named Mopsus penicillatus.
The common name of this spider is Green jumping spider or Northern green jumping spider. They are found in Eastern Australia and New Guinea.
This is Australia's largest jumping spider. The female measures up to 18 mm while the male is around 12 mm in body length. The spider catches large prey during day-time with its stout two front pairs of legs. Their colour varies widely with their surrounding but is predominantly green. They can be found on broad green leaves and tree trunks

Mopsus mormon female	Mopsus mormon male. Note the white whiskers on its head.
And her front legs are capable of catching large prey.

Mopsus mormon male. Even his own kind is taken.	But wasps are also serious enemies.

Genus Myrmarachne

Myrmarachne striatipes or Ant mimicking spider.

Some spiders mimic other insects. As is the case with most spiders that mimic ants, the color of the spider is almost the same as the ant it mimics. Also it abdomen has often an slight constriction to mimic the three segment of an ant. These spiders mix freely with ants, and feed on them when a single ant gets away from the others. Jumping spiders are not the only spiders family that mimic ants also Clubionidae (sac spiders) in the genera Castianeira and Apochinomma imitate ants.

Myrmarachne ZZ274

Genus Opisthoncus

With 25 describes species Opistoncus is one of the largest genera of tha Australian Salticidae.
Males often differ substantially from females in colour pattern. The spiders are often brown to black and often have a pattern white, grey, brown or black zig-zag pattern om the abdomen. The cephalothorax (head-breast part) has often patches of white, brown or yellow patches and brown to red rings around their eyes.
The spider hunts during day-time like most salticids.

Opisthoncus ZZ057	Opisthoncus polyphemus female. Her size is 8-9 mm, the male 6-7 mm. Habitat: screrophyl (hard-leaved) forest, heathland and woodland
Opisthoncus ZZ050	Opisthoncus ZZ050
Opisthoncus mordax	Opisthoncus mordax
Opisthoncus? ZZ387	Opisthoncus? ZZ387

The common name of this spider is house fly catcher. The female is 7-9 mm long and the male 6-7 mm. It lives throughout the tropics

Plexippus petersi	Plexippus petersi

Genus Sandalodes

Sandalodes bipenicillatus??	Sandalodes bipenicillatus??
Sandalodes or Orisiona ZZ275

Genus Zenodores

Zenodorus ZZ048	Zenodorus ZZ048
Zenodorus ZZ063	Zenodorus ZZ063
Zenodores ZZ044	Zenodores ZZ052

Zenodorus orbiculatus
This 7-9 mm long spider can found between grass, on leaves or bark hunting soft bodied bugs and flies. It are active hunter in shady situation during the day. The spider can be found in coastal heathland in QLD and NSW . Male and females are similar in appearance. The spider name was formerly Pystera orbiculata.
Zenodorus orbiculatus	Zenodorus orbiculatus
The spider name was formerly Pystera orbiculata. This 7-9 mm long spider can found hunting on soft bodied bugs and flies.	Zenodorus orbiculatus

species ZZ028	species ZZ038
species ZZ033	species ZZ040
species ZZ188	species ZZ039
species ZZ046	species ZZ046
species ZZ051	species ZZ051
species ZZ047	species ZZ053
species ZZ061	species ZZ061
species ZZ124	species ZZ124
species ZZ136	species ZZ140
species ZZ156	species ZZ156
species ZZ186	species ZZ186
ZZ276 Opistoncus? QLD	ZZ276 Opistoncus? QLD
ZZ277
ZZ255 from New Zealand Northern island	ZZ255 From QLD
ZZ384 QLD	ZZ384 QLD
ZZ385 QLD	ZZ385 QLD

Ed Nieuwenhuys, 9 august 2009
14 december 2008
15 november 2008
26 november 2006