Arthropods Codexery

Portia (spider)

Intelligent arachnophagic jumping spiders

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Jumping spiders belonging to the genus Portia are arachnophagic, meaning they prey on other spiders.[1] Ferdinand Karsch, a German arachnologist, first described the genus Portia in 1878.[2]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumArthropoda
  3. SubphylumChelicerata
  4. ClassArachnida
  5. OrderAraneae
  6. InfraorderAraneomorphae
  7. FamilySalticidae
  8. GenusPortia

Named by Karsch, 1878

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Portia (spider) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Quick Facts

Type species
Salticus fimbriatus
Diversity
20 species

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

Molecular phylogeny indicates Portia belongs to a basal clade of jumping spiders.[3] Wanless divided the genus into two species groups based on male palp structure.[4] The type species for this genus is Portia fimbriata, commonly called the fringed jumping spider.[2] According to a 1987 study by S.E.A. Hallas, the lifespan of Portia species is approximately 1.5 years.[5]

The palps and legs of Portia spiders detach with relative ease, a trait that might serve as a defensive adaptation, and individuals are frequently observed missing these appendages.[6] Larger predators like birds and frogs, as well as certain insects including mantises and the assassin bugs Nagusta sp. and Scipinia rapax, pose a threat to Portia.[7]

What the cited sources add

The Australian Museum account describes Portia fimbriata as a web builder and skilled hunter of spiders.[8] It states that Portia fimbriata is found across Northern Australia in habitats from savanna woodland to rainforest.[8] The same source notes that Portia invades victims' webs and is skilled at moving on silk.[8] The account also describes Portia's slow, jerky walking gait that helps conceal it.[8]

The Australian Museum notes one instance where a spider continued vibratory behavior in a web for three days before the host spider finally came to investigate and was captured.[8] When identifying prey types, P. africana depends on visual characteristics such as overall morphology and color (or relative brightness).[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Portia (spider)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Piper, Ross (2007), Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals, Greenwood Press. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Portia (spider)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Gen. Portia Karsch, 1878", World Spider Catalog (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Portia (spider)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Maddison, "Salticid spider phylogeny revisited, with the discovery of a large Australasian clade (Araneae: Salticidae)", Zootaxa, 2008, p. 49–64 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Portia (spider)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wanless, "A revision of the spider genus Portia (Araneae: Salticidae)", Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zoology, 1978, p. 83–124; Wanless, "A revision of the spider genus Portia (Araneae: Salticidae)", Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zoology, 1978, p. 83–124 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Portia (spider)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: S.E.A. Hallas, The life cycle of three species of Portia (Salticidae, Spartaeinae). Ir.canterbury.ac.nz, 1987. p. 69 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Portia (spider)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Zealand, "New Zealand Journal of Zoology", 1986 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Portia (spider)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ""Eight-legged cats" and how they see - a review of recent research on jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae)", Cimbebasia, 2000, p. 231–240; "Scipinia is a genus of true bugs in the family assassin bugs." Encyclopedia of Life. Scipinia Stål 1861. Scipinia rapax Miller 1941. https://eol.org/pages/9003; Jackson, "Specialized prey selection behavior of two East African assassin bugs, Scipinnia repax and Nagusta sp. that prey on social jumping spiders", Journal of Insect Science, 2010, p. 1–19 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. "Fringed Jumping Spider", The Australian Museum. facts only, no text reused. australian.museum
  9. Wikipedia, "Portia (spider)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cross, "Specialised use of working memory by Portia africana, a spider-eating salticid", Anim Cogn, 2014, p. 435–44; Foster, "Ecology and Behavior in Portia schultzii, With Notes on Related Species (Areneae, Salticidae)I", The Journal of Arachnology, p. 29–42; Jackson, "Cues by which Portia fimbriata, an araneophagic jumping spider, distinguishes jumping-spider prey from other prey", Journal of Experimental Biology, 2000-11-15, p. 3485–3494 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Portia (spider) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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