Uroballus carlei
Uroballus carlei | |
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Male | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
Class: | Arachnida |
Order: | Araneae |
Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
Family: | Salticidae |
Subfamily: | Salticinae |
Genus: | Uroballus |
Species: | U. carlei |
Binomial name | |
Uroballus carlei Logunov & Obenauer, 2019 |
Uroballus carlei is a species of spider of the genus Uroballus. It is endemic to Hong Kong.[1]
Like U. koponeni, this species seems to mimic small caterpillars, likely those of lichen moths. The authors of the description hypothesize that U. carlei might normally live in tree canopies.[1]
Distribution
Uroballus carlei has been described from one male, which was collected in 2018 from a railing at the edge of Shek O Country Park, Hong Kong.
Name
The species is named after American illustrator Eric Carle of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, at the occasion of his 90th birthday, the 50th anniversary of his most famous book, and to honor his contribution to early childhood nature education.[1]
Description
Like other species of this genus, U. carlei has unusually long spinnerets, and a flat and broadened carapace. The body of the male is about 3 mm long. The abdomen is unusually long, with a longitudinal serrate brown stripe, and densely covered with long erected hairs.[1]
The female (probably immature) is only known from pictures in the book A Guide to the Spiders of Hong Kong (2016) by Dickson Wong.
Behavior
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Uroballus_carlei_male_display.jpg/220px-Uroballus_carlei_male_display.jpg)
The male moves rather slowly, with long rest phases. It rarely jumps, and might escape by falling down on a thread of several centimeters, then climbing back up. When encountering a mirror, it displays to its male mirror image.
References
- ^ a b c d Logunov, D.V.; Obenauer, S.M. (2019). "A new species of Uroballus Simon, 1902 (Araneae: Salticidae) from Hong Kong, a jumping spider that appears to mimic lichen moth caterpillars" (PDF). Israel Journal of Entomology. 49 (1): 1–9.
External links
- iNaturalist: Pictures of U. carlei
- v
- t
- e
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (1967)
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969)
- The Grouchy Ladybug (1977)
- Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me (1986)
- All in a Day (1986)
- Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? (1991)
- Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? (2003)
- Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? (2007)
- Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
- Uroballus carlei