Ballus chalybeius

Ballus chalybeius is a jumping spider. It is the type species of the genus Ballus.

Ballus chalybeius
Subadult male
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Salticidae
Genus: Ballus
Species:
B. chalybeius
Binomial name
Ballus chalybeius
(Walckenaer, 1802)
Synonyms

Aranea depressa
Aranea chalybeia
Attus chalybeius
Salticus annulipes
Attus annulipes
Salticus brevipes
Salticus heterophthalmus
Euophrys suralis
Euophrys brevipes
Marpissa brevipes
Attus heterophthalmus
Salticus obscurus
Ballus heterophthalmus
Attus brevipes
Attus quinquefoveolatus
Attus biimpressus
Balla heterophthalma
Dendryphantes annulipes
Dendryphantes brevipes
Attus seguipes
Ballus depressus
Ballus obscurus

Appearance

subadult male in retreat

This flattened spider can reach a length of 3–4 millimetres (0.12–0.16 in). The prosoma is dark brown in females, with irregular lighter markings. The lightly yellow legs have dark rings in both sexes. In males, which are generally darker, the first legs are dark and thickened. The species is similar to Ballus rufipes, which is smaller and much darker.[1]

Habits

During summer, the female builds a flat silken retreat on the underside of a leaf and guards its egg sac inside.[1]

Habitat

It can be found mostly on the fringes of deciduous forests, on broad-leaved bushes and trees, particularly oaks, and in the grass. In Central Europe, they are widely distributed and in most areas quite common.[1]

Distribution

Ballus chalybeius occurs in Europe, North Africa to Central Asia.[2]

Name

The species name is derived from Ancient Greek chalyb- "steel".

References

  1. Bellmann, H. (1997). Kosmos-Atlas Spinnentiere Europas. Kosmos. pX
  2. Platnick, N. I. (2006). The world spider catalog, version 7.0. American Museum of Natural History.
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