jumping spider

File:Salticidae Male Anterior annotated.jpg

File:Phidippus regius.webm staying near its shelter on a thistle. It attempts to capture a small winged insect.]]

Jumping spiders are among the easiest to distinguish from similar spider families because of the shape of the cephalothorax and their eye patterns. The families closest to Salticidae in general appearance are the Corinnidae (distinguished also by prominent spines on the back four legs), the Oxyopidae (the lynx spiders, distinguished by very prominent spines on all legs), and the Thomisidae (the crab spiders, distinguished by their front four legs, which are very long and powerful). None of these families, however, have eyes that resemble those of the Salticidae. Conversely, the legs of jumping spiders are not covered with any very prominent spines. Their front four legs generally are larger than the hind four, but not as dramatically so as those of the crab spiders, nor are they held in the outstretched-arms attitude characteristic of the Thomisidae. In spite of the length of their front legs, Salticidae depend on their rear legs for jumping. The generally larger front legs are used partly to assist in grasping prey, and in some species, the front legs and pedipalps are used in species-recognition signaling.

The jumping spiders, unlike the other families, have faces that are roughly rectangular surfaces perpendicular to their direction of motion. In effect this means that their forward-looking, anterior eyes are on "flat faces". Their eye pattern is the clearest single identifying characteristic. They have eight eyes. Most diagnostic are the front row of four eyes, in which the anterior median pair are more dramatically prominent than any other spider eyes apart from the posterior median eyes of the Deinopidae. There is, however, a radical functional difference between the major (anterior median) eyes of Salticidae and the major (posterior median) eyes of the Deinopidae; the large posterior eyes of Deinopidae are adapted mainly to vision in dim light, whereas the large anterior eyes of Salticidae are adapted to detailed, three-dimensional vision for purposes of estimating the range, direction, and nature of potential prey, permitting the spider to direct its attacking leaps with great precision. The anterior lateral eyes, though large, are smaller than the anterior median eyes and provide a wider forward field of vision.

The rear row of four eyes may be described as strongly bent, or as being rearranged into two rows, with two large posterior lateral eyes being the furthest back. They serve for lateral vision. The posterior median eyes also have been shifted out laterally, almost as far as the posterior lateral eyes. They are usually much smaller than the posterior lateral eyes and there is doubt about whether they are at all functional in many species.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

The body length of jumping spiders generally ranges from {{convert|1|to(-)|25|mm|in|abbr=on|2}}.{{cite news |date=2017-08-17 |title=Watch the world's biggest jumping spider make a leap |work=BBC Earth |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reBnd0hpGxg |access-date=2023-03-04}} The largest is Hyllus giganteus, while other genera with relatively large species include Phidippus, Philaeus and Plexippus.{{cite news |last=Macík |first=Stanislav |date=2012-08-27 |title=Phiddipus regius: the Jewel between Spider Predators |publisher=arachnos.eu |url=http://arachnos.eu/araneomorphae/salticidae/item/48-piddipus-regius-the-jewel-between-spider-predators |access-date=2016-06-18}}

In addition to using their silk for safety lines while jumping, they also build silken "pup tents", where they take shelter from bad weather and sleep at night.Gabrielson, M., & Roberts, A. (2022). Jumping spider. Getting Eight Legs Up – Learning More About Our Forest’s Jumping Spiders. https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1057184.pdf They molt in these shelters, build and store egg cases in them, and also spend the winter in them.{{cite book |last=Foelix |first=Rainer F. |year=1996 |title=Biology of Spiders |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-674-07431-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/biologyofspiders00foel/page/11 11] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/biologyofspiders00foel/page/11 }}

Their body's sensory hairs are able to detect airborne acoustic stimuli up to 3 m away.{{Cite journal |last1=Shamble |first1=Paul S. |last2=Menda |first2=Gil |last3=Golden |first3=James R. |last4=Nitzany |first4=Eyal I. |last5=Walden |first5=Katherine |last6=Beatus |first6=Tsevi |last7=Elias |first7=Damian O. |last8=Cohen |first8=Itai |last9=Miles |first9=Ronald N. |last10=Hoy |first10=Ronald R. |date=2016 |title=Airborne Acoustic Perception by a Jumping Spider |journal=Current Biology |language=en |volume=26 |issue=21 |pages=2913–2920 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2016.08.041 |pmc=5102792 |pmid=27746028|bibcode=2016CBio...26.2913S }}

File:Jumping spider vision David Hill.svg

File:Telamonia dimidiata female.jpg located near the front]]

File:Phidippus audax male.jpg]]

Jumping spiders have four pairs of eyes; three secondary pairs that are fixed and a principal pair that is movable.

The posterior median eyes are vestigial in many species, but in some primitive subfamilies, they are comparable in size with the other secondary eyes and help to detect motion.{{cite journal |title=short communication fields of view of the eyes – The Company of Biologists Limited 1985 |journal=Journal of Experimental Biology |date=November 1985 |volume=119 |issue=1 |pages=381–384 |doi=10.1242/jeb.119.1.381 |url=http://jeb.biologists.org/content/119/1/381.full.pdf |access-date=13 August 2013 |last1=Land |first1=M. F. }} While unable to form images, the reduced pair of eyes is thought to have a role similar to that of insect ocelli by receiving light from the sky. The photoreceptors in the other secondary pairs are almost exclusively green-sensitive, but the posterior median eyes have two visual opsins different from those in all the other eyes, sensitive to blue and UV light.[http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.2108/zs140094 Functional Properties of Opsins and their Contribution to Light-Sensing Physiology]

The posterior lateral eyes (PLEs) are wide-angle motion detectors that sense motions from the side and behind. Combined with the other eyes, PLEs give the spider a near 360° view of the world.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

The anterior lateral eyes (ALEs) have the best visual acuity of the secondary eyes.{{cite journal |last1=Zurek |first1=Daniel B. |last2=Nelson |first2=Ximena J. |date=August 2012 |title=Hyperacute motion detection by the lateral eyes of jumping spiders |journal=Vision Research |doi=10.1016/j.visres.2012.06.011 |pmid=22750020 |volume=66 |pages=26–30|doi-access=free |hdl=10092/17539 |hdl-access=free }} They are able to distinguish some details, as well, and without them, no "looming response" can be triggered by motion.{{cite web |date=17 October 2012 |title=Jeepers, Peepers: Why Spiders Have So Many Eyes |publisher=Livescience.com |url=http://www.livescience.com/24054-why-spiders-have-eight-eyes.html |access-date=13 August 2013}} Even with all the other pairs covered, jumping spiders in a study could still detect, stalk, and attack flies, using their ALEs only, which are also sufficiently widely spaced to provide stereoscopic vision.{{cite journal |last1=Zurek |first1=D. B. |last2=Taylor |first2=A. J. |last3=Evans |first3=C. S. |last4=Nelson |first4=X. J. |date=25 June 2010 |title=The role of the anterior lateral eyes in the vision-based behaviour of jumping spiders |journal=Journal of Experimental Biology |doi=10.1242/jeb.042382 |pmid=20581266 |volume=213 |issue=14 |pages=2372–2378|doi-access=free |bibcode=2010JExpB.213.2372Z |hdl=10092/17412 |hdl-access=free }}

The anterior median eyes have very good vision. This pair of eyes is built like a telescopic tube with a corneal lens in the front and a second lens in the back that focus images onto a four-layered retina, a narrow, boomerang-shaped strip oriented vertically.{{cite journal|url=http://archopht.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=420035 |title=Eye on the Web |publisher=Archopht.jamanetwork.com |date=21 August 2007 |doi=10.1001/archopht.125.11.1557 |access-date=13 August 2013|last1=Rozenbaum |first1=Ilya |last2=Ritch |first2=R. |journal=Archives of Ophthalmology |volume=125 |issue=11 |page=1557 |pmid=17998517 |url-access=subscription }} Physiological experiments have shown they may have up to four different kinds of receptor cells, with different absorption spectra, giving them the possibility of tetrachromatic color vision, with sensitivity extending into the ultraviolet (UV) range. As the eyes are too close together to allow depth perception, and the animals do not make use of motion parallax, they have instead evolved a method called image defocus. Of the four photoreceptor layers in the retina, the two closest to the surface contain a UV-sensitive opsin (visual pigment), while the two deepest contain a green-sensitive opsin. The incoming green light is only focused on the deepest layer, while the other one receives defocused or fuzzy images. By measuring the amount of defocus from the fuzzy layer, calculating the distance to the objects in front of them is possible.{{cite web|url=http://www.livescience.com/18143-jumping-spider-unique-vision.html |title=Jumping Spiders' Unique Vision Revealed |publisher=Livescience.com |date=26 January 2012 |access-date=13 August 2013}}{{cite journal |last1=Nagata |first1=Takashi |last2=Koyanagi |first2=Mitsumasa |last3=Tsukamoto |first3=Hisao |last4=Saeki |first4=Shinjiro |last5=Isono |first5=Kunio |last6=Shichida |first6=Yoshinori |last7=Tokunaga |first7=Fumio |last8=Kinoshita |first8=Michiyo |last9=Arikawa |first9=Kentaro |last10=Terakita |first10=Akihisa |title=Depth Perception from Image Defocus in a Jumping Spider |journal=Science |date=27 January 2012 |volume=335 |issue=6067 |pages=469–471 |doi=10.1126/science.1211667 |pmid=22282813|bibcode=2012Sci...335..469N |s2cid=8039638 |url=https://ir.soken.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=4203&item_no=1&attribute_id=22&file_no=1}} In addition to receptor cells, red filters also have been detected, located in front of the cells that normally register green light.[http://www.futurity.org/jumping-spiders-vision-925522/ Filters let jumping spiders spot flashy mates] All salticids, regardless of whether they have two, three, or four kinds of color receptors, seemingly are highly sensitive to UV light. Some species (such as Cosmophasis umbratica) are highly dimorphic in the UV spectrum, suggesting a role in sexual signaling.(Lim & Li, 2005). Color discrimination has been demonstrated in behavioral experiments.

The anterior median eyes have high resolution (11 min visual angle),{{cite journal|url=http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/abstract/51/2/443 |title=Structure of the Retinae of the Principal Eyes of Jumping Spiders (Salticidae: Dendryphantinae) in Relation to Visual Optics |pmid=5351425|year=1969|last1=Land|first1=MF|volume=51|issue=2|pages=443–70|journal=The Journal of Experimental Biology|doi=10.1242/jeb.51.2.443 |bibcode=1969JExpB..51..443L |url-access=subscription}} but the field of vision is narrow, from 2 to 5°. The central region of the retina, where acuity is highest, is no more than six or seven receptor rows wide. However, the eye can scan objects off the direct axis of vision. As the lens is attached to the carapace, the eye's scanning movements are restricted to its retina through a complicated pattern of translations and rotations.{{cite web|url=http://www.mapoflife.org/topics/topic_281_Scanning-eyes-in-molluscs-and-arthropods/ |title=Topic: Scanning eyes in molluscs and arthropods |publisher=Mapoflife.org |access-date=13 August 2013}} This dynamic adjustment is a means of compensation for the narrowness of the static field of vision. Movement of the retina in jumping spiders is analogous to the way many vertebrates, such as primates, move their entire eyes to focus images of interest onto their fovea centralis. In jumping spiders with a translucent carapace, such movements within the jumping spider's eyes are visible from outside when the attention of the spider is directed to various targets.{{cite journal|author=Land, M. F. |title=Movements of the retinae of jumping spiders (Salticidae: Dendryphantinae) in response to visual stimuli|pmid=5351426|url=http://jeb.biologists.org/content/51/2/471.full.pdf|year=1969|volume=51|issue=2|pages=471–93|journal=The Journal of Experimental Biology|doi=10.1242/jeb.51.2.471|bibcode=1969JExpB..51..471L }}

File:Unidentified Salticid Jumping with Trailing Dragline.jpg

Many other arthropods are known to jump, including grasshoppers, fleas, leafhoppers, and sand fleas. Jumping spiders are different from these animals because they are able to make accurate, targeted jumps. Jumps are used for navigation, to escape danger, and to catch prey. When jumping, they use mainly their third or fourth pair of legs, or both pairs, depending on species.[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8046696/ Role of legs and foot adhesion in salticid spiders jumping from smooth surfaces] Jumping spiders' well-developed internal hydraulic system extends their limbs by altering the pressure of their body fluid (hemolymph) within them.{{cite journal|author1=Parry, D.A. |author2=Brown, R.H.J |title= The jumping mechanism of salticid spiders |journal= Journal of Experimental Biology |year=1959|volume= 36 |issue=4|pages= 654–664|doi=10.1242/jeb.36.4.654 |bibcode=1959JExpB..36..654P |url=https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/36/4/654/13286/The-Jumping-Mechanism-of-Salticid-Spiders|url-access=subscription }} This enables the spiders to jump without having large muscular legs like a grasshopper. The maximum horizontal jump distance varies greatly between species, with some capable of jumping two or three body lengths, while the jump of an individual Colonus puerperus was measured at 38 times the body length.{{cite journal|author1=Hill, D.E. |title= The jumping behavior of jumping spiders: a review |journal= Peckhamia |year=2018|volume= 167 |issue=1|pages= 1–8|url=https://peckhamia.com/peckhamia/PECKHAMIA_167.1.pdf }} The accuracy of their jumps is mediated by their well-developed visual system and the ability to quickly process visual information to tailor each jump.{{cite web |author1=Hill, D.E. |title=Targeted jumps by salticid spiders (Araneae, Salticidae, Phidippus) |version=v. 9 |website=The Peckham Society |date=15 December 2006 | url=https://www.peckhamia.com/epublications/Hill%202006%20Targeted%20jumps%20by%20salticid%20spiders%20V9%20EB%20PDF.pdf}}{{cite book |last1=Harland |first1=D.P. |last2=Li |first2=D. |last3=Jackson |first3=R.R.|year=2012 |editor-last1=Lazareva |editor-first1=O.F. |editor-last2=Shimizu |editor-first2=T |title=How Animals See the World: Comparative behavior, biology, and evolution of vision |publisher=Oxford University Press |orig-date=1st pub. 2012 |pages=133–163 |chapter=Chapter 9: How Jumping Spiders See the World |chapter-url= https://academic.oup.com/book/10753/chapter-abstract/158855659?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false |isbn= 978-0-19-993316-7}} When a jumping spider moves from place to place, and especially just before it jumps, it tethers a filament of silk (or 'dragline') to whatever it is standing on. This dragline provides a mechanical aid to jumping, including braking and stabilization{{cite journal|author1=Chen, Y. |author2=Ciao, C. |author3=Tsai, F. |author4=Chi, K. |title= More than a safety line: jump-stabilizing silk of salticids |journal= Journal of the Royal Society Interface |year=2013|volume= 10:20130572 |issue=87 |doi=10.1098/rsif.2013.0572 |pmid=23925983 |pmc=3758018 }} and if the jump should fail, the spider climbs back up the dragline.

File:JumpingSpider hunt macrogiants A.jpg eating a Pantropical jumper, another jumping spider]]

The hunting behaviour of the Salticidae is confusingly varied compared to that of most spiders in other families.{{cite journal|author1=Richman, David B. |author2=Jackson, Robert R. |title= A review of the ethology of jumping spiders (Araneae, Salticidae)|journal= Bull. Br. Arachnol. Soc. |year=1992|volume= 9 |issue=2|pages= 33–37|url=http://www.peckhamia.com/hosted/Richman%20Jackson%201992%20A%20review%20of%20the%20ethology%20of%20jumping%20spiders.pdf}} Salticids hunt diurnally as a rule, which is consistent with their highly developed visual system. When it detects potential prey, a jumping spider typically begins orienting itself by swiveling its cephalothorax to bring the anterior median eyes to bear. It then moves its abdomen into line with its cephalothorax. After that, it might spend some time inspecting the object of its attention and determining whether a camouflaged or doubtful item of prey is promising, before it starts to stalk slowly forward. When close enough, the spider pauses to attach a dragline, then springs onto the prey.

Many variations on the theme and many surprising aspects exist. For one, salticids do not necessarily follow a straight path in approaching prey. They may follow a circuitous course, sometimes even a course that takes the hunter through regions from which the prey is not visible. Such complex adaptive behaviour is hard to reconcile with an organism that has such a tiny brain, but some jumping spiders, in particular some species of Portia, can negotiate long detours from one bush down to the ground, then up the stem of another bush to capture a prey item on a particular leaf.{{Cite journal|last1=TARSITANO|first1=MICHAEL S.|last2=JACKSON|first2=ROBERT R.|date=February 1997|title=Araneophagic jumping spiders discriminate between detour routes that do and do not lead to prey|journal=Animal Behaviour|volume=53|issue=2|pages=257–266|doi=10.1006/anbe.1996.0372|s2cid=53180070|issn=0003-3472}} Such behaviour still is the subject of research.

Some salticid species are continually on the move, stopping periodically to look around for prey, which they then stalk immediately. Others spend more time scanning their surroundings from one position, actively stalking any prey they detect. Members of the genus Phaeacius take that strategy to extremes; they sit on a tree trunk, facing downwards and rarely do any stalking, but simply lunge down on any prey items that pass close before them.

Some Salticidae specialise in particular classes of prey, such as ants. Most spiders, including most salticids, avoid worker ants, but several species not only eat them as a primary item in their diets, but also employ specialised attack techniques; Anasaitis canosa, for example, circles around to the front of the ant and grabs it over the back of its head. Such myrmecophagous species, however, do not necessarily refuse other prey items, and routinely catch flies and similar prey in the usual salticid fashion, without the special precautions they apply in hunting dangerous prey such as ants. Ants offer the advantages of being plentiful prey items for which little competition from other predators occurs, but catching less hazardous prey when it presents itself remains profitable.

Some of the most surprising hunting behaviours occur among the araneophagous Salticidae, and vary greatly in method. Many of the spider-hunting species quite commonly attack other spiders, whether fellow salticids or not, in the same way as any other prey, but some kinds resort to web invasion; nonspecialists such as Phidippus audax sometimes attack prey ensnared in webs, basically in acts of kleptoparasitism; sometimes they leap onto and eat the web occupant itself, or simply walk over the web for that purpose.

Salticidae in the genera Brettus, Cyrba, Gelotia, and Portia display more advanced web-invasion behavior. They slowly advance onto the web and vibrate the silk with their pedipalps and legs. In this respect, their behaviour resembles that of the Mimetidae, probably the most specialised of the araneophagous spider families. If the web occupant approaches in the manner appropriate to dealing with ensnared prey, the predator attacks.

The foregoing examples present the Salticidae as textbook examples of active hunters; they would hardly seem likely to build webs other than those used in reproductive activities, and in fact, most species really do not build webs to catch prey. However, exceptions occur, though even those that do build capture webs generally also go hunting like other salticids. Some Portia species, for example, spin capture webs that are functional, though not as impressive as some orb webs of the Araneidae; Portia webs are of an unusual funnel shape and apparently adapted to the capture of other spiders. Spartaeus species, though, largely capture moths in their webs. In their review of the ethology of the Salticidae, Richman and Jackson speculate on whether such web building is a relic of the evolution of this family from web-building ancestors.

In hunting, the Salticidae also use their silk as a tether to enable them to reach prey that otherwise would be inaccessible. For example, by advancing towards the prey to less than the jumping distance, then retreating and leaping in an arc at the end of the tether line, many species can leap onto prey on vertical or even on inverted surfaces, which of course would not be possible without such a tether.

Having made contact with the prey, hunting Salticidae administer a bite to inject rapid-acting venom that gives the victim little time to react.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxbuysNGLOM National Geographic video of capture of bee by jumping spider]. Youtube.com (27 February 2009). Retrieved on 4 May 2013. In this respect, they resemble the Mimetidae and Thomisidae, families that ambush prey that often are larger than the predator, and they do so without securing the victim with silk; they accordingly must immobilise it immediately and their venom is adapted accordingly.

{{multiple image

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Among several organisms, scientists have discovered that octopuses and cuttlefish experience REM sleep. Although REM sleep has been proved to be a phase of sleep in various organisms, there was a lack of evidence that supported the presence of REM sleep in insects and arachnids.(Mason, 2022){{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

File:Jumping spider with prey.jpg jumping spider with a captured male ant]]

Although jumping spiders are generally carnivorous, many species have been known to include nectar in their diets,{{cite journal|first=Robert R.|last=Jackson|author2=Simon D. Pollard|author3=Ximena J. Nelson|author4=G. B. Edwards|author5=Alberto T. Barrion|year=2001|title=Jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) that feed on nectar|journal=Journal of Zoology, London|volume=255|pages=25–29|url=http://xnelson.googlepages.com/Jacksonetal2001.pdf|doi=10.1017/S095283690100108X|archive-date=18 March 2009|access-date=15 July 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318020505/http://xnelson.googlepages.com/Jacksonetal2001.pdf|url-status=dead}}. One species, Bagheera kiplingi, feeds primarily on Beltian bodies, specialized structures rich in fat and protein, found on some acacia (Vachellia) species.{{Cite journal |last1=Meehan |first1=Christopher J. |last2=Olson |first2=Eric J. |last3=Reudink |first3=Matthew W. |last4=Kyser |first4=T. Kurt |last5=Curry |first5=Robert L. |date=2009-10-13 |title=Herbivory in a spider through exploitation of an ant–plant mutualism |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982209016261 |journal=Current Biology |volume=19 |issue=19 |pages=R892–R893 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2009.08.049 |pmid=19825348 |bibcode=2009CBio...19.R892M |issn=0960-9822}} None are known to feed on seeds or fruit. Extrafloral nectaries on plants, such as Chamaecrista fasciculata (partridge pea), provide jumping spiders with nectar; the plant benefits accordingly when the spiders prey on whatever pests they find.

The female of the Southeast Asian species Toxeus magnus feeds its offspring with a milky, nutritious fluid for the first 40 days of their lives.{{cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Zhanqi |last2=Corlett |first2=Richard T. |last3=Jiao |first3=Xiaoguo |last4=Liu |first4=Sheng-Jie |last5=Charles-Dominique |first5=Tristan |last6=Zhang |first6=Shichang |last7=Li |first7=Huan |last8=Lai |first8=Ren |last9=Long |first9=Chengbo |last10=Quan |first10=Rui-Chang |title=Prolonged milk provisioning in a jumping spider |journal=Science |date=30 November 2018 |volume=362 |issue=6418 |pages=1052–1055 |doi=10.1126/science.aat3692 |pmid=30498127 |bibcode=2018Sci...362.1052C |display-authors=3|doi-access=free }}

File:Saitis barbipes signaling.jpg jumping spider]]

Jumping spiders conduct complex, visual courtship displays using movements and physical bodily attributes. A form of sexual dimorphism, the males possess plumose hairs, colored or iridescent hairs (particularly pronounced in the peacock spiders), front leg fringes, structures on other legs, and other, often bizarre, modifications. These characteristics are used in a courtship "dance" in which the colored or iridescent parts of the body are displayed. In addition to displaying colors, jumping spiders perform complex sliding, vibrational, or zigzag movements to attract females. Many males have auditory signals, as well. These amplified sounds presented to the females resemble buzzes or drum rolls.{{cite journal|title=Seismic signals in a courting male jumping spider |pmid=14555743 |doi=10.1242/jeb.00634 |year=2003 |last1=Elias |first1=DO |last2=Mason |first2=AC |last3=Maddison |first3=WP |last4=Hoy |first4=RR |volume=206 |issue=22 |pages=4029–4039 |journal=The Journal of Experimental Biology |doi-access=free |bibcode=2003JExpB.206.4029E }} Species vary significantly in visual and vibratory components of courtship.Morelle, Rebecca (2 May 2008) [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7378196.stm " Study sheds light on spider sex"], BBC News. The ability to sense UV light (see Vision section) is used by at least one species, Cosmophasis umbratica, in courtship behavior,{{cite journal | last1 = Lim | first1 = Matthew L. M. | last2 = Li | first2 = Daiqin | year = 2006 | title = Extreme Ultraviolet Sexual Dimorphism in Jumping Spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) | journal = Biological Journal of the Linnean Society | volume = 89 | issue = 3| pages = 397–406 | doi=10.1111/j.1095-8312.2006.00704.x| doi-access = free }}(Lim, Matthew L. M., and

Daiqin Li. "Courtship and Male-Male Agonistic Behaviour of Comsophasis

Umbratica Simon, an Ornate Jumping Spider (Araneae: Salticidae)." The Raffles

Bulletin of Zoology (2004): 52(2): 435–448. National University of Singapore.

Web. 20 September 2015.) though it is reasonable to assume that many other species exhibit this characteristic. Cosmophasis umbratica males have markings that are only visible in UV and the females use the markings for mate choice.Bulbert, Matthew W., James C. O'Hanlon, Shane

Zappettini, Shichang Zhang, and Daiqin Li. "Sexually Selected UV Signals in the

Tropical Ornate Jumping Spider, Cosmophasis umbratica, May Incur Costs from

Predation." Ecology and Evolution (2015): 5(4): 914-920. John Wiley & Sons

Ltd. Web. 20 September 2015.

If receptive to the male, the female assumes a passive, crouching position. In some species, the female may vibrate her palps or abdomen. The male then extends his front legs towards the female to touch her. If the female remains receptive, the male climbs on her back and inseminates her with his palps.{{cite book|title=Biology of Spiders|first=Rainer F.|last=Foelix|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1996|pages=[https://archive.org/details/biologyofspiders00foel/page/195 195–197]|isbn=978-0-674-07431-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/biologyofspiders00foel/page/195}}

Maintaining colorful ornamentation may seem strictly beneficial to sexual selection, yet costs to maintain such distinguishing characteristics occur. While colorful or UV-reflecting individuals may attract more female spiders, it can also increase the risk of predation.

{{See also|List of Salticidae genera}}

{{Cladogram|title=Classification within the spiders (Araneae){{cite journal|last1=Wheeler|first1=Ward C.|last2=Coddington|first2=Jonathan A.|last3=Crowley|first3=Louise M.|last4=Dimitrov|first4=Dimitar|last5=Goloboff|first5=Pablo A.|last6=Griswold|first6=Charles E.|last7=Hormiga|first7=Gustavo|last8=Prendini|first8=Lorenzo|last9=Ramírez|first9=Martín J.|last10=Sierwald|first10=Petra|last11=Almeida-Silva|first11=Lina|last12=Alvarez-Padilla|first12=Fernando|last13=Arnedo|first13=Miquel A.|last14=Benavides Silva|first14=Ligia R.|last15=Benjamin|first15=Suresh P.|last16=Bond|first16=Jason E.|last17=Grismado|first17=Cristian J.|last18=Hasan|first18=Emile|last19=Hedin|first19=Marshal|last20=Izquierdo|first20=Matías A.|last21=Labarque|first21=Facundo M.|last22=Ledford|first22=Joel|last23=Lopardo|first23=Lara|last24=Maddison|first24=Wayne P.|last25=Miller|first25=Jeremy A.|last26=Piacentini|first26=Luis N.|last27=Platnick|first27=Norman I.|last28=Polotow|first28=Daniele|last29=Silva-Dávila|first29=Diana|last30=Scharff|first30=Nikolaj|last31=Szűts|first31=Tamás|last32=Ubick|first32=Darrell|last33=Vink|first33=Cor J.|last34=Wood|first34=Hannah M.|last35=Zhang|first35=Junxia|title=The spider tree of life: phylogeny of Araneae based on target-gene analyses from an extensive taxon sampling|journal=Cladistics|volume=33|issue=6|pages=574–616|date=December 2016|display-authors=3|doi=10.1111/cla.12182|pmid=34724759 |s2cid=35535038|doi-access=free}}

|clades={{clade

|style=font-size:85%;line-height:89%

|1={{clade

|1=Mygalomorphae

|label2=Araneomorphae

|2={{clade

|1=Synspermiata

|2=Palpimanoidea

|label3=Entelegynae

|3={{clade

|1=Araneoidea

|2=Eresidae

|3=Titanoecidae

|label4=RTA clade

|4={{clade

|1=Zodariidae

|2=Sparassidae

|3=Lycosidae

|label4=Dionycha

|4={{clade

|1=Clubionidae

|2=Gnaphosidae

|3=Corinnidae

|4=Philodromidae

|5=Salticidae

}}

}}

}}

}}

}}

}}

}}

The monophyly of the family Salticidae is well established through both phylogenetic and morphological analyses. The sister group to Salticidae is the family Philodromidae.{{cite journal |last1=Ramírez |first1=Martín J. |title=The morphology and phylogeny of dionychan spiders (Araneae, Araneomorphae) |journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History |date=27 June 2014 |issue=390 |page=313 |issn=0003-0090}}{{cite journal |last1=Azevedo |first1=Guilherme H. F. |last2=Bougie |first2=Tierney |last3=Carboni |first3=Martin |last4=Hedin |first4=Marshal |last5=Ramírez |first5=Martín J. |title=Combining genomic, phenotypic and Sanger sequencing data to elucidate the phylogeny of the two-clawed spiders (Dionycha) |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |date=January 2022 |volume=166 |page=107327 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107327|pmid=34666169 |s2cid=239035463 | issn=1055-7903 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2022MolPE.16607327A |hdl=11336/148790 |hdl-access=free }} Synapomorphies of the two families include loss of cylindrical gland spigots and loss of tapeta in the indirect eyes.

A 2015 revision of the Salticidae family divided it into seven subfamilies:

• Onomastinae Maddison, 2015 – 1 extant genus
• Asemoneinae Maddison, 2015 – 4 extant genera (Hindumanes, originally placed here, was moved to Lyssomaninae{{Citation |mode=cs1 |last1=Sudhin |first1=P.P. |last2=Nafin |first2=K.S. |last3=Sudhikumar |first3=A.V. |date=2017 |title=Revision of Hindumanes Logunov, 2004 (Araneae: Salticidae: Lyssomaninae), with description of a new species from the Western Ghats of Kerala, India |journal=Zootaxa |volume=4350 |issue=2 |pages=317–330 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4350.2.7 |pmid=29245556 |name-list-style=amp }})
• Lyssomaninae Blackwall, 1877 – 4 extant genera (including Hindumanes)
• Spartaeinae Wanless, 1984 – 29 extant genera in 3 tribes
• Eupoinae Maddison, 2015 – 3 extant genera
• Hisponinae Simon, 1901 – 6 extant genera
• Salticinae Blackwall, 1841 – about 540 extant genera in 27 tribes

The relationships between these subfamilies is still up for debate. Below are the results of a 2017 phylogenomic study that attempted to resolve this question. The subfamily Eupoinae was unevaluated and its exact position is unclear.{{cite journal |author1=Maddison, Wayne |display-authors=etal |title=A genome-wide phylogeny of jumping spiders (Araneae, Salticidae), using anchored hybrid enrichment |journal=ZooKeys |date=4 September 2017 |issue=695 |pages=89–101 |doi=10.3897/zookeys.695.13852 |doi-access=free |pmid=29134008 |pmc=5673835 |bibcode=2017ZooK..695...89M |url=https://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=13852}}

{{clade

|label1=Salticidae

|1={{clade

|label1=

|state1=dotted

|1=Eupoinae

|2={{clade

|label1=

|1=Spartaeinae File:Amilaps mayana Zookeys.891.38563 Fig 10.jpg

|2={{clade

|label1=

|1=Asemoneinae File:Asemonea amatola Male.jpg

|2=Lyssomaninae File:Unidentified Lyssomanes (2).jpg

}}

}}

|3={{clade

|label1=

|1=Onomastinae

File:Onomastus.kanoi.female.-.tanikawa.jpg

|2={{clade

|label1=

|1=Hisponinae 60px

|2=Salticinae File:Jumping spider (48128064301).jpg

}}

}}

}}

}}

{{clear left}}

File:Dimorphic Jumping Spider.webm in family Salticidae on tree trunk.]]

Jumping spiders live in a variety of habitats. Tropical forests harbor the most species, but they are also found in temperate forests, scrubland, deserts, intertidal zones, and mountainous regions. Euophrys omnisuperstes is the species reported to have been collected at the highest elevation, on the slopes of Mount Everest.{{cite journal |last=Wanless |first=F. R. |year=1975 |title=Spiders of the family Salticidae from the upper slopes of Everest and Makalu |journal=Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society |volume=3 |issue=5 |pages=132–136}}

Some small insects are thought to have evolved an appearance or behavioural traits that resemble those of jumping spiders and this is suspected to prevent their predation, specifically from jumping spiders. Some examples appear to be provided by patterns on the wings of some tephritid flies,{{cite journal|last1=Whitman|first1=D.W|last2=Orsak|first2=L|last3=Greene|first3=E. |year=1988|title= Spider mimicry in fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae): Further experiments on the deterrence of jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) by Zonosemata vittigera (Coquillett)|journal= Annals of the Entomological Society of America|volume= 81|issue=3|pages=532–536|doi=10.1093/aesa/81.3.532}}{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1111/eth.12021| title = Characterisation of Predator-Directed Displays in Tephritid Flies| journal = Ethology| volume = 118| issue = 12| pages = 1165–1172| year = 2012| last1 = Rao | first1 = D. | last2 = Díaz-Fleischer | first2 = F. | bibcode = 2012Ethol.118.1165R}} the nymph of a fulgorid{{cite journal|author=Zolnerowich, Gregory |year=1992|title= A Unique Amycle Nymph (Homoptera: Fulgoridae) That Mimics Jumping Spiders (Araneae: Salticidae)|journal= Journal of the New York Entomological Society |volume=100|issue=3|pages=498–502|jstor=25009980}} and possibly some moths.{{cite journal|vauthors=Rota J, Wagner DL |year=2006|title=Predator Mimicry: Metalmark Moths Mimic Their Jumping Spider Predators|journal= PLOS ONE|volume=1|issue=1|page=e45|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0000045|pmid=17183674|pmc=1762363|bibcode=2006PLoSO...1...45R |doi-access=free}}

Very few jumping spider fossils have been found. Of those known, all are from Cenozoic era amber. The oldest fossils are from Baltic amber dating to the Eocene epoch, specifically, 54 to 42 million years ago. Other fossil jumping spiders have been preserved within Chiapas amber and Dominican amber.{{cite journal|title=Salticidae of the Antarctic land bridge|first=David Edwin|last=Hill|journal=Peckhamia|date=7 October 2009|url=http://www.peckhamia.com/peckhamia/PECKHAMIA%2076.1.pdf}}

• Peckhamia (journal)
• Spider taxonomy

{{Reflist|25em|refs=

{{cite web

|title=Currently valid spider genera and species

|website=World Spider Catalog

|place=Bern, Switzerland

|publisher=Natur Historisches Museum, Bern

|url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/statistics/

|access-date=1 February 2019

}}

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|date=1954

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{{cite journal

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|date=2000

|title='Eight-legged cats' and how they see – a review of recent research on jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae)

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|access-date=28 January 2016

}}

{{cite journal

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|date=November 2015

|title=A phylogenetic classification of jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae)

|journal=Journal of Arachnology

|volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=231–292

|doi=10.1636/arac-43-03-231-292 |s2cid=85680279

}}

{{cite journal

|last1=Peaslee |first1=A.G.

|last2=Wilson |first2=G. |name-list-style=amp

|date=May 1989

|title=Spectral sensitivity in jumping spiders (Araneae, Salticidae)

|journal=Journal of Comparative Physiology A

|volume=164 |issue=3 |pages=359–63

|doi=10.1007/BF00612995 |pmid=2709341

|s2cid=21329083

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{{cite journal

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|first1=Xian-Jin

|last2=Tso

|first2=I-Min

|last3=Li

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|date=2002

|title=Five new and four newly recorded species of jumping spiders from Taiwan (Araneae: Salticidae)

|journal=Zoological Studies

|volume=41

|issue=1

|pages=1–12

|url=http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/41.1/1.pdf

|access-date=28 January 2016

|archive-date=10 November 2021

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110055051/http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/41.1/1.pdf

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{{cite book

|last1=Richman |first1=D.B.

|last2=Edwards |first2=G.B.

|last3=Cutler |first3=B. |name-list-style=amp

|date=2005

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|editor1-last=Ubick |editor1-first=D.

|editor2-last=Paquin |editor2-first=P.

|editor3-last=Cushing |editor3-first=P.E.

|editor4-last=Roth |editor4-first=V.

|title=Spiders of North America: An identification manual

|pages=205–216

|publisher=American Arachnological Society

|isbn=978-0-9771439-0-0

}}

}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite journal | last1 = Forster | first1 = L.M. | year = 1982 | title = Vision and prey-catching strategies in jumping spiders | journal = American Scientist | volume = 70 | issue = 2 | pages = 165–175 | bibcode = 1982AmSci..70..165F }}
• {{cite book |last=Jackson |first=R.R. |date=1982 |chapter=The behavior of communicating in jumping spiders (Salticidae) |editor1-first=P. |editor1-last=Witt |editor2-first=J. |editor2-last=Rovner |title=Spider Communication Mechanisms and Ecological Significance |pages=213–247 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |oclc=951407473 }}
• {{cite journal | last1 = Elias | first1 = D.O. | last2 = Mason | first2 = A.C. | last3 = Maddison | first3 = W.P. | last4 = Hoy | first4 = R.R. | year = 2003 | title = Seismic signals in a courting male jumping spider (Araneae: Salticidae) | journal = Journal of Experimental Biology | volume = 206 | issue = 22| pages = 4029–4039 | doi=10.1242/jeb.00634 | pmid=14555743| doi-access = free | bibcode = 2003JExpB.206.4029E }}
• {{cite journal | last1 = Lim | first1 = M.L.M. | last2 = Li | first2 = D. | year = 2005 | title = Extreme ultraviolet sexual dimorphism in jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) | journal = Biological Journal of the Linnean Society | volume = 89 | issue = 3| pages = 397–406 | doi = 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2006.00704.x | doi-access = free }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Maddison |first1=Wayne P. |last2=Beattie |first2=Imara |last3=Marathe |first3=Kiran |last4=Ng |first4=Paul Y. C. |last5=Kanesharatnam |first5=Nilani |last6=Benjamin |first6=Suresh P. |last7=Kunte |first7=Krushnamegh |title=A phylogenetic and taxonomic review of baviine jumping spiders (Araneae, Salticidae, Baviini) |journal=ZooKeys |date=16 December 2020 |issue=1004 |pages=27–97 |doi=10.3897/zookeys.1004.57526|doi-access=free |pmid=33384565 |pmc=7758311 |bibcode=2020ZooK.1004...27M }}

{{Refend}}

{{Commons category|Salticidae}}

{{Wikispecies|Salticidae}}

• [http://www.salticidae.webs.com Asian jumping spiders and photo references] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023033919/https://salticidae.webs.com/ |date=23 October 2020 }}
• [http://www.jumping-spiders.com/ Comprehensive resource on the morphology and taxonomy of jumping spiders (Salticidae): www.jumping-spiders.com]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120508224531/http://www.gsd-salt.miiz.waw.pl/ Global Species Database of Salticidae]
• [http://www.educatedearth.net/video.php?id=3676 Video of a jumping spider's mating behavior]
• [https://leapingspiders.com High-Speed Photography of Jumping Spiders in Mid-air]
• [https://www.pbs.org/video/why-8-eyes-are-better-than-2-if-youre-a-spider-k2fveq/ PBS Be Smart Video About Jumping Spider Vision]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yvz7NVAnKY4 Close-Up Video of Transparent Jumping Spider Captures Its Tube-Like Eyes Moving]
• [http://www.wsc.nmbe.ch World Spider Catalog]
• [http://www.xs4all.nl/~ednieuw/Spiders/Salticidae/Salticidae.htm Jumping Spiders of NW-Europe]
• [http://www.xs4all.nl/~ednieuw/australian/salticidae/Salticidae.html Jumping spiders of Australia]
• [http://www.rkwalton.com/jump.php/North American Jumping Spiders – 70 Species Videos (includes introduction to salticids, predation, mating, and other behaviors)]
• [http://tolweb.org/accessory/Movies_of_Jumping_Spider_Courtship?acc_id=64 Movies of Habronattus courtship behavior]
• [http://www.biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/SALTICIDAE The Australian Faunal Directory taxonomic classification of Australian salticids]

{{Araneae}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q11687}}

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Category:Extant Eocene first appearances