[Title Page] [List of Genera] Comparison of Drawings] [Regional Keys to Genera] [Descriptions of New Taxa] [Geographical Distribution] [Color Photographs] [See also Catalogue of Salticidae: Philaeus] [Genus: Philaeus - List of Species]

Salticidae: Diagnostic Drawings Library

by Jerzy Proszynski 1997

Genus Philaeus Thorell, 1869

COLOR PHOTOGRAPS by Senglet by A. P. Noordam [ from Nieuwenhuys] [ by Knoflach][ by Holstein].

DRAWINGS: [P. chrysops TYPE SPECIES] P. chrysops - More Drawings ][daoxianensis][ maoniuensis] [ mathisi] [ senilis]

Diagnoses of genera of South East Asia: Philaeus (6-8; 7-9). Two species of Philaeus, P. chrysops and P. maoniuensis, are known from S. China. The striking colour of the male of the well known and widespread P. chrysops makes it one of the easier salticids to recognise in the field. Overall, the cephalothorax is dark brown, the eye region black with two short, broad white flashes behind the rear eyes. Dorsally and laterally, the abdomen is bright orange-red with black shoulders and a longitudinal, broad, median, black stripe that starts from anterior edge but does not quite reach the posterior edge. The long, slender legs are dark brown to black with the patellae and most of the tibiae of legs I & II bright orange-red, much the same colour as in the abdomen. The female is not nearly so colourful. The cephalothorax is coloured much as the male save that the white flashes behind the rear eyes are much reduced and quite small. The dorsal side of the abdomen is largely covered with a very broad, brown band with two, longitudinal, narrowish white stripes and a few white, oblique marks near the sides. The remainder of the abdomen and the sides are orange, giving an overall mottled effect. The legs are light brown with dark brown annulations. Both male and female are quite hairy. For both sexes, the cephalothorax of both sexes is moderately raised, with the sides and thorax sloping fairly steeply from the flattish top. In plan, it is broadly oval with the front and rear somewhat truncated. The abdomen is stout and oval with the front more rounded and the rear slightly tapered. There are ventral spines on the tibiae and metatarsi, but these are largely masked by the general hairiness of the legs.
Distribution: Philaeus has a wide distribution with most species coming from the Mediterranean Region and W. Africa. In general P. chrysops has a palaearctic plus S. China distribution, whilst P. maoniuensi is known only from S. China. Single species are also recorded from Mexico, Guatemala and the Galapagos Islands. Murphy & Murphy 2000: 279. By courtesy of the Authors' and the Malaysian Nature Society.

Copyright © for the page by J. Proszynski, 1999.