''Cosmophasis micarioides'' is a species of

jumping spider Jumping spiders are a group of spiders that constitute the family Salticidae. As of 2019, this family contained over 600 described genera and over 6,000 described species, making it the largest family of spiders at 13% of all species. Jumping spi ...

found in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, Australia and the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its ca ...

. The common name is sparkling northern jumping spider. When in motion, the male spider bobs its abdomen up and down reflecting sunlight that causes a characteristic sparkle.

Description

There are significant differences in colour and patterns between male and female ''Cosmophasis micarioides''. The male is black with iridescent bands of blue-green, and has a longitudinal mark on the abdomen. The female is orange-brown with lighter coloured bands of green and brown that lie across the abdomen. The pattern of marks on the female is quite variable and not reliable for identification. The distinguishing feature is that stripes on the side of the head of both sexes reach down to the rim of the

carapace A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the und ...

, as opposed to the very similar ''

Cosmophasis thalassina ''Cosmophasis thalassina'' is a species of jumping spider found from Malaysia to Australia. It was probably dispersed to the gardens and the parks of Queensland by man. Description The carapace is covered with greenish-bronze and squamose coppe ...

'' where black does not extend as far as the rim. The abdomen of the male is narrower than the female. The subadult male has orange in place of black on top of the carapace. The species is widespread and common in tropical Australia and south to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. Body length from head to tail is for females and for males.

Gallery

Cosmophasis.micarioides.l.koch.jpg, Illustration by L. Koch Cosmophasis micarioides (male) 6860.jpg, Male from above Cosmophasis micarioides (male) 6841.jpg, Black bands reach down to the carapace rim Cosmophasis micarioides (male) 2338.jpg, Male in Cairns Cosmophasis micarioides (female) 7150.jpg, Female from above Cosmophasis micarioides (female) 7134.jpg, Female in Cairns

References

Spiders of Australia Spiders described in 1880 Salticidae {{jumping-spider-stub