Jumping spider
A spider in the family Salticidae, distinguished by acute vision and the ability to leap while hunting or moving between surfaces.
Salticid eyes: The forward-facing principal eyes and side-mounted secondary eyes that give salticid spiders detailed vision and broad motion detection. Their eye arrangement supports precise prey tracking and distance judgments before a leap.
Araneae: The order of arachnids that includes spiders, characterized by silk-producing organs and venom-delivering fangs. Salticidae is one family within this order.
Portia (spider): A genus of jumping spiders noted for flexible, visually guided hunting of other spiders. Portia provides a detailed case of planning and specialized prey capture in Salticidae.
Phidippus audax: A large North American jumping spider commonly called the daring jumping spider. Its conspicuous appearance and common occurrence make it a familiar Salticidae example.
Web-building spider: A spider that constructs a silk web to intercept or capture prey. Unlike web-dependent hunters, jumping spiders usually stalk and leap directly at prey.
Spider hydraulics: The use of hemolymph pressure to extend spider legs, which lack extensor muscles at several joints. Pressure-driven leg extension helps generate the force behind a jump.
Arachnid: A chelicerate arthropod with four pairs of walking legs as an adult, including spiders, scorpions, and mites. Jumping spiders share the basic body plan of arachnids.
Mimicry in spiders: The resemblance of some spiders to other organisms in appearance or behavior. Some salticids imitate ants, linking their visual abilities to deception and prey access.
Maratus volans: An Australian jumping spider species whose males display colorful abdominal flaps during courtship. Its courtship display shows how visual signaling can become highly specialized.
Wolf spider: A family of roaming spiders that hunt prey on the ground, often relying on strong vision and speed. Both hunt actively, but wolf spiders use a different body plan and hunting style.