''Bagheera'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

jumping spiders Jumping spiders are a group of spiders that constitute the family Salticidae. , this family contained over 600 described genera and over 6,000 described species, making it the largest family of spiderscomprising 13% of spider species. Jumping s ...

within the family

Salticidae Jumping spiders are a group of spiders that constitute the family (biology), family Salticidae. , this family contained over 600 species description, described genus, genera and over 6,000 described species, making it the largest family of spide ...

, subfamily

Salticinae Salticinae is a subfamily of jumping spiders (family Salticidae). It includes over 90% of the known species of jumping spiders. The subfamily is divided into two unranked clades: Amycoida and Salticoida. Description Members of the subfamily Sal ...

and subtribe Dendryphantina. The genus was first described by George Peckham & Elizabeth Peckham in 1896. The name is derived from

Bagheera Bagheera ( / ''Baghīrā'') is a fictional character in Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories in '' The Jungle Book'' (coll. 1894) and '' The Second Jungle Book'' (coll. 1895). He is a black panther ( melanistic Indian leopard) who serves as frie ...

, a character from

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

's ''

Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

''. The type species ''

Bagheera kiplingi ''Bagheera kiplingi'' is a species of jumping spider found in Central America, including Mexico, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. It is the type species of the genus '' Bagheera'', which includes three other species, including '' B. prosper''.Platnick ...

'' is noted for its unique, primarily herbivorous diet of

Beltian bodies A Beltian body is a detachable tip found on the pinnules of some species of ''Acacia'' and closely related genera. Beltian bodies, named after Thomas Belt, are rich in lipids, sugars and proteins and often red in colour. They are believed to have ...

. Male individuals within the genus may be identified by their elongate, horizontal, parallel

chelicerae The chelicerae () are the arthropod mouthparts, mouthparts of the subphylum Chelicerata, an arthropod group that includes arachnids, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. Commonly referred to as "jaws", chelicerae may be shaped as either articulated ...

Species

it contains four species, found in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, the United States, and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

: *''

'' Peckham & Peckham, 1896 (

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

) – Mexico to Costa Rica *'' Bagheera laselva'' Ruiz & Edwards, 2013 – Costa Rica *'' Bagheera motagua'' Ruiz & Edwards, 2013 – Guatemala *'' Bagheera prosper'' (Peckham & Peckham, 1901) – USA, Mexico

References

External links

Recent photographs of ''Bagheera''
Salticidae genera Salticidae Spiders of Central America Spiders of North America {{Jumping-spider-stub