Taxonomy

Ananeon has one described Australian species, Ananeon howardensis. Another undescribed species is known from the Northern Territory inland (Richardson, unpubl.) Ananeon’s relationships with other genera are uncertain, but there appear to be some similarities with Tara and Paraphilaeus (Whyte unpubl.) Further information on the genus and described species can be found in Richardson and Żabka (2017) and Whyte and Anderson (2017).

Description

Ananeon spp. are small, compact spiders, body length ranging from 3 to 5 mm. The head, viewed from above, is rectangular with curved sides. The carapace is high with a peak at the posterior lateral eyes.  The anterior lateral eyes and posterior lateral eyes are rather small, on separate prominences. The anterior median eyes are greatly enlarged and protruding, often fringed with forward-pointing hairs. The chelicerae have a single retromarginal tooth (unident) and two teeth opposite on the promargin. The leading edge of the abdomen overlaps the trailing edge of the cephalothorax. The male has enlarged (sometimes conspicuously hairy) femurs on the first and second pair of legs. The first pair is significantly bigger and more robust than the others and has noticeably longer trochanters.  The slender patella is also rather long, nearly the same length as the tibia. Apart from the femurs the legs are generally slender.

The male’s palp has a long, thin embolus distal to and passing left-to-right along the edge of the tegulum ending in a distinct anticlockwise curve. The tegulum has a proximal tegular lobe. The retro-lateral tibial apophysis is strongly built and bifurcate.

The female has two well-developed epigynal atria.  The insemination ducts lie across the ventral surfaces of the rounded spermathecae, giving the appearance, externally, of diverticulae, as the copulatory openings are not apparent.

Biology

Ananeon is found in rainforest to dry sclerophyll forest on the ground in leaf litter, mostly in relatively cool and humid places.

Distribution

Ananeon is known from higher rainfall areas of the Northern Territory and north-eastern Queensland.

References

Richardson, B.J. 2013. New unidentate jumping spider genera (Araneae: Salticidae) from Australia. Zootaxa 3716, 460–474.

Richardson, B.J. & Żabka, M. 2017. Salticidae. Arachnida: Araneomorphae. Canberra, Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study, at https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/SALTICIDAE.

Whyte, R. & Anderson, G. 2017. A Field Guide to Spiders of Australia. CSIRO Publishing: Clayton.

* The information sheet should be interpreted in the context of the associated diagrams and photographs. Diagrams explaining anatomical terms can be found in the ‘Salticidae’ pictures at the beginning of the list of genera.