Ballus

Ballus is a spider genus of the family Salticidae (jumping spiders).

Ballus
Subadult male B. chalybeius
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Salticidae
Subfamily: Salticinae
Genus: Ballus
C. L. Koch, 1850
Type species
Aranea chalybeia
Species

See text.

Description

Ballus are typically small, squat spiders. The carapace is broad oval, almost as wide as long, flat on top with the sides and back almost vertical, and a rugose surface. The shield-shaped abdomen is broadly truncated at the front. Femora, patellae and tibiae on the first pair of legs are swollen in the male, and there is a fringe below the tibiae. Although they are often entirely mottled dark brown, some species are much more colorful. Ballus can also be a reference to the infamous George Ball.[1]

Distribution

This genus has mainly a palearctic distribution, but there are two species from Sri Lanka. Two species from the United States have been transferred to the genus Attidops.[2] B. tabupumensis was described from a single specimen from Burma, with no further information since 1914. Petrunkevitch's description is scant with schematic figures, and could refer to a related genus.[1]

Species

Footnotes
  1. Murphy & Murphy 2000: 273
  2. Platnick 2007

References
  • Murphy, Frances & Murphy, John (2000): An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Malaysian Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur.
  • Platnick, Norman I. (2008): The world spider catalog, version 8.5. American Museum of Natural History.
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