Mopsus (genus)
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| Mopsus | ||||||||||||||||||
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 Female devouring a fly, North Queensland
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| Mopsus mormon Karsch, 1878 |
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Ascyltus penicillatus |
Mopsus is an Australian spider genus of the Salticidae family (jumping spiders). The only species M. mormon is commonly called Green jumping spider.
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[edit] Description
With 12 mm (female), this is the largest jumping spider of Australia, and very common in Queensland. It also occurs in New Guinea and northern New South Wales.
The males are strikingly colored and decorated with long white "side whiskers", which rise to a peak surmounted by a topknot of black hairs.[1] Females don't have the whiskers and topknot, but instead feature a red and white elegant "mask".
[edit] Behavior
This species show an amazingly complex display repertoire, in some respects similar to that of several Phidippus species (P. johnsoni, P. femoratus) and Portia fimbriata. However, this is likely to be convergent evolution. Alternative mating tactics have been described [1], 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 behaviors 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.
[edit] Name
Mopsus is a name from Greek mythology. The species name is probably from Mormons (see picture of male).
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] 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
- Platnick, Norman I. (2008): The world spider catalog, version 8.5. American Museum of Natural History.
