Maratus – Wikipedia

Marathus is a kind of spider spiders of the Salticidae family ^{[ first ]} . These sautowy spiders are called Spiders .

Species of this genus meet in Australia except Maratus griseus And Maratus snake Introduced in New Zealand and Maratus furvus China ^{[ first ]} .

These spiders live on the ground or on low shrubs ^{[ 2 ]} .

THE Marathus are small spiders with a total length of 4 – 5 mm presenting an important sexual dimorphism. They are nicknamed “spiders” because of the dorsal surface of the male opisthosome, which is covered with very lively patterns where colored “scales” contrast with an iridescent background. The abdomen can also be flanked by appendages folded under the body or be bristling with hair fringes, also very colorful. In both sexes, the abdomen is connected to the cephalothorax by a long and very flexible pedicle. This allows the male to draw up his opisthosome, which can also be flattened and agitated to accentuate the appearance of the dorsal pattern. Not all species have colors appearing clearly to human vision; Thus, Maratus bat seems strangely colored, with iridescent side appendages ^{[ 3 ]} . In most species, the male has a third pair of fairly long legs and often covered with colored patterns. Sauteous spiders have excellent vision, with the ability to see at least two colors: green and ultraviolet ^{[ 4 ] , [ 5 ]} .

The male copulating bulbs are apparently rather simple, with a circular embolus. The black spots of the abdomen of the males of the spiders MARATUS beautiful And Maratus Karrie absorb more than 99.5% of visible light. This supernoir is due to the presence of a network of microscopic bumps in the shape of lenses, whose underlying layers contain pigments ^{[ 6 ] , [ 7 ]} .

As for the female, it is camouflaged, covered with white and brown tones. The epigyne is simple with two “windows” ( fossae ) at the front and a pair of oval spermathèque at the back. The long and flexible pedicle allows females to turn their abdomen over 180 ° during mating ^{[ 3 ]} .

The deployment of the abdomen is used in the context of the nuptial parade and in at least one species in aggressive relationships between rival males ^{[ 8 ]} ( Maratus bat ). The third pair of legs is also drawn up during the parade that vibratory signals are completed adding to the visual signs ^{[ 9 ]} .

According World Spider Catalog (version 23.5, 09/09/2022) ^{[ ten ]} :

This genre was described by Karsch in 1878 in the ATTIDAE.

Lycidas ^{[ 11 ]} was placed in synonymy by Otto and Hill in 2012 ^{[ 3 ]} .

Drepanephora Keyserling, 1883 ^{[ twelfth ]} , preoccupied by Drepanephora A booth random, 1830, Deposit par Hypoblemum ^{[ 13 ]} And hundred ^{[ 14 ]} were placed in synonymy by Otto and Hill in 2021 ^{[ 15 ]} .

• Karsch, 1878: “Diagnoses Attoid of several new Holland’s collection of the Museum Zoologic Berlin. » Messages from the Munich Entomological Association , vol. 2, p. 22-32 ( Full Text ).