Phidippus otiosus is a species of jumping spider

Jumping spider

The jumping spider family contains more than 500 described genera and about 5,000 described species, making it the largest family of spiders with about 13% of all species. Jumping spiders have some of the best vision among invertebrates and use it in courtship, hunting and navigation...

 that is found in southeastern North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. It is primarily a tree-living species. Females reach a body length of about 16 mm. Its iridescent fangs can range in color from purple to green.

Life cycle

Females position their single egg sac under the bark of oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

 and pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

 trees. These are laid from December to February in South Carolina, and from January to June in Florida. The spiderlings mature during fall.

Systematics

P. otiosus is grouped with the closely related species P. californicus

Phidippus californicus

Phidippus californicus is a species of jumping spider. It is found in the southwestern USA Phidippus californicus is a species of jumping spider. It is found in the southwestern USA Phidippus californicus is a species of jumping spider. It is found in the southwestern USA (Arizona, New Mexico,...

, P. pius

Phidippus pius

Phidippus pius is a species of jumping spider that is found in Central and North America.-Name:The species name is derived from the Latin word pius or "pious", meaning dutiful, godly, or holy.-Further reading:...

and P. regius

Phidippus regius

Phidippus regius is a species of jumping spider. It is the largest jumping spider in eastern North America, with adult males averaging 12mm in length , and females averaging 15mm .Males and females are easily differentiated...

in the otiosus group.

Distribution

P. otiosus naturally occurs in the southeastern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 from Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 and Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 to North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

. However, this species is sometimes exported with plants such as Tillandsia

Tillandsia

Tillandsia is a genus of around 540 species in the Bromeliad family , found in the forests, mountains, and deserts, of Central and South America, and Mexico and the southern United States in North America....

, with occasional finds in countries as remote as Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Name

The species name is possibly derived from Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 otius "idle, at leisure", or from Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...

oto- "ear", referring to the tufts of black hair.

A common name for this species is Canopy Jumping Spider.

Further reading

(1980): Taxonomy, ethology, and ecology of Phidippus (Araneae: Salticidae) in eastern North America. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Florida, Gainesville. (1996): Metabolic rates of resting salticid and thomisid spiders. Journal of Arachnology 24(2): 129-134. PDF

External links

• Salticidae.org: Photographs
• Salticidae.org: Diagnostic drawings