Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 11, 2026

Spartaeus

Spartaeus is a genus of Asian jumping spiders that was first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1891. These spiders build large sheet webs on tree trunks to capture prey, mostly moths. When walking, they wave their palps and legs in an unusual way.

Last revised
Jul 11, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
368 w
Citations
5
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Spartaeus
S. zhangi from Hong Kong
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Salticidae
Subfamily: Spartaeinae
Genus: Spartaeus
Thorell, 18911
Type species
S. spinimanus
(Thorell, 1878)
Species

19, see text

Spartaeus is a genus of Asian jumping spiders that was first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1891.2 These spiders build large sheet webs on tree trunks to capture prey, mostly moths. When walking, they wave their palps and legs in an unusual way.3

The genus was renamed from Boethus in 1984 because the name was found to be preoccupied.1 It is named after the son of the Rhodian nymph Himalia and Zeus in Greek mythology.

Species

As of August 2019 it contains nineteen species, found only in Asia:1

  • Spartaeus abramovi Logunov & Azarkina, 2008 – Vietnam
  • Spartaeus bani (Ikeda, 1995) – Japan
  • Spartaeus banthamus Logunov & Azarkina, 2008 – Laos
  • Spartaeus ellipticus Bao & Peng, 2002 – Taiwan
  • Spartaeus emeishan Zhu, Yang & Zhang, 2007 – China
  • Spartaeus forcipiformis Yang, W. Liu, P. Liu & Peng, 2017 – China
  • Spartaeus jaegeri Logunov & Azarkina, 2008 – Laos
  • Spartaeus jianfengensis Song & Chai, 1991 – China
  • Spartaeus karigiri Caleb et al., 2025 – India
  • Spartaeus noctivagus Logunov & Azarkina, 2008 – Laos
  • Spartaeus pinniformis Yang, W. Liu, P. Liu & Peng, 2017 – China
  • Spartaeus platnicki Song, Chen & Gong, 1991 – China
  • Spartaeus serratus Yang, W. Liu, P. Liu & Peng, 2017 – China
  • Spartaeus spinimanus (Thorell, 1878) (type) – Sri Lanka to Indonesia (Borneo, Sumbawa)
  • Spartaeus tengchongensis Yang, W. Liu, P. Liu & Peng, 2017 – China
  • Spartaeus thailandicus Wanless, 1984 – China, Thailand
  • Spartaeus triapiculus Yang, W. Liu, P. Liu & Peng, 2017 – China
  • Spartaeus uplandicus Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
  • Spartaeus wildtrackii Wanless, 1987 – Malaysia
  • Spartaeus zhangi Peng & Li, 2002 – China, Laos
References

References

  1. "Gen. Spartaeus Thorell, 1891". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. 2019. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  2. Thorell, T. (1891). "Spindlar från Nikobarerna och andra delar af södra Asien". Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps-Akademiens Handlingar. 24 (2): 1–149.
  3. "Web building and predatory behaviour of Spartaeus spinimanus and Spartaeus thailandicus, primitive jumping spiders (Araneae, Salticidae) from South-East Asia". Research Gate. Retrieved 4 June 2016.