Color phot: sp. from Singapore
[TYPE SPECIES macrognathus ] [birmanicus ] [dentiferellus][ digitalis] [dilanians ] [ kochi ] [macilentus ] [molossus ] [montrouzieri] [ palabuanensis ] [pahang][papuanus ] [proboscideus ] [rechingeri ][rectus] [sedatus ] [shelfordi ] [B. sp 8 cf. shelfordi]
Diagnoses of genera
of South East Asia: 51.2 Square headed salticids with long
thin, colourful abdomens. Found on shrubs and plants. General remarks: Some
of the commoner salticids likely to be seen on foliage in rain forest or garden.
They are often brightly coloured and immediately attract attention. Their large,
dark, anterior median eyes are noticed immediately. The long thin bodies, long
legs and long chelicerae of males are characteristic. Genera for which little
information is available or are possibly rare are placed here tentatively and
preceded by a "?".
Genus: Bathippus (6-9; 6-10), PI. 30.1. Bathippus species are
colourful, long legged, long, thin-bodied salticids often to be found wandering
about on shrubs in or near rain forest. The cephalothorax looks something like
a rectangular rubber brick of square cross section which has been pushed forwards.
The cephalus is squarish, slightly wider at the front and flattish. The thorax
is rectangular, longer than wide and fairly steep, whilst the sides are rhomboidal
and vertical. The abdomen is long, narrow, tubular, widest at the front and
tapering slightly towards the rear. The legs are long, slender and spiny, with
numerous long spines on the tibiae and metatarsi of the front two pairs of legs.
Colours can vary. Typically the carapace is orange, sometimes with lighter stripes
radiating from the fovea. The abdomen is grey, and sometines there are three
or four pairs of dark grey square marks. The legs are orange with front two
pairs dark brown-orange. Characteristic of this genus are the robust, diverging,
forward projecting chelicerae, particularly those on the males. There are usually
one or two strong teeth on each chelicera and a long curving fang nearby, lending
the spider a fearsome aspect.
Distribution: The range of Bathippus extends from Myanmar to Papua
New Guinea and Australia. Murphy
& Murphy 2000: 295. By courtesy of the Authors' and the Malaysian Nature
Society.
NB. Proszynski suggested
merging of Canama with Bathippus because of similarities in genital
organs whilst differences between both genera seemed to be limited to bifurcation
of one of cheliceral teeth (cf. Proszynski 1987: 9, also unpublished materials).
Research by Zabka leads to different conclusions, so we leave provisionally
the contents of these genera as listed below, with understanding that delimitation
of species in both genera await further studies. J. Proszynski
Copyright © for the page by J. Proszynski, 1999.