Ballus chalybeius is a jumping spider. It is the type species of the genus Ballus.
Ballus chalybeius | |
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Adult male | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
Class: | Arachnida |
Order: | Araneae |
Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
Family: | Salticidae |
Subfamily: | Salticinae |
Genus: | Ballus |
Species: | B. chalybeius
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Binomial name | |
Ballus chalybeius (Walckenaer, 1802)
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Synonyms | |
Aranea depressa |
Appearance
editThis 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
editDuring summer, the female builds a flat silken retreat on the underside of a leaf and guards its egg sac inside.[1]
Habitat
editIt 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
editBallus chalybeius occurs in Europe, North Africa to Central Asia.[2]
Name
editThe species name is derived from Ancient Greek chalyb- "steel".
References
edit- ^ a b c Bellmann, H. (1997). Kosmos-Atlas Spinnentiere Europas. Kosmos. pX
- ^ Platnick, N. I. (2006). The world spider catalog, version 7.0. American Museum of Natural History.