Taxonomy

Evarcha spp. are found in Africa, southern and eastern Asia, the Pacific and Australia.  Australia has two species, Evarcha infrastriata and E. longula. The latter is also found in New Guinea. Evarcha longula was transferred from Trite to Evarcha by Richardson (2016). The proposed transfer of these species to Colopsus and Evawes respectively (Prószyński, 2018, Blick & Marusik, 2018) has been controversial (Kropf et al 2019).

Description

Evarcha spp. are medium-sized spiders, ranging in length from 5 to 7 mm. The head, viewed from above, is rather roundish, widest behind the posterior lateral eyes. The carapace is low, with a flattened upper surface or highest at the posterior lateral eyes. Tufts of long setae arise from a point just rear and underneath the posterior median eyes in E. longula. Chelicera have a single (unident) retromarginal tooth and two teeth on the promargin. The abdomen is long and narrow or rounded. The first legs are longer than the other legs but not massive in build.

The male’s palp has either a short blunt embolus arising on the distal edge of the tegulum or arising on the pro-lateral edge of the palpal tegulum and forming an anti-clockwise, three-quarter circle around it. The tegulum is round with or without a large proximal lobe. The palpal tibia has either a single short blunt apophysis, bifurcate in the last third or a long pointed one.

The female has two epigynal atria with heavily sclerotised margins. The copulatory openings are located deep in each atrium. The convoluted, multi-chambered spermathecae are located either within the margins of the atria or medially between them. There are lateral pockets beside the atria on the epigastric fold.

Biology

Evarcha spp. are found on grass and tree foliage in open forests and woodlands.

Distribution

The Australian species occur widely across northern Australia in higher rainfall areas, on Lord Howe Island and in New Guinea.

References

Blick, T. and Marusik, Y.M. (2018). Three junior synonyms of jumping spider genera (Araneae: Salticidae). Athropoda Selecta 27, 237-238

Davies, V.T. & Żabka, M. 1989. Illustrated keys to the genera of jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) in Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 27, 189-266.

Kropf, C., Blick, T., Brecocovit, A.D. and ten others. 2019. How not to delimit taxa: a critique on a recently proposed “pragmatic classification” of jumping spiders (Arthropoda: Arachnida: Araneae: Salticidae). Zootaxa 4545, 444-446.

Prószyński, J. 2018. Review of genera Evarcha and Nigorella, with comments on Emertonius, Padilothorax, Stagetillus, and description of five new genera and two new species (Araneae: Salticidae). Ecologica Montenegrina 16, 130-179.

Richardson, B.J. 2016. New genera, new species and redescriptions of Australian jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae). Zootaxa 41, 501-560.

Richardson, B.J. & Żabka, M. 2016. Salticidae. Arachnida: Araneomorphae. Canberra, Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study, at https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/SALTICIDAE.

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

Żabka, M. 1993. Salticidae (Arachnida: Araneae) of the Oriental, Australian and Pacific regions. IX. Genera Afraflacilla Berland & Millot 1941 and Evarcha Simon 1902. Invertebrate Taxonomy 7, 279-295.

* 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.