''Cyrba'' is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). The genus was erected by Hippolyte Lucas in 1846.

Description

''Cyrba'' spiders are small to medium size spiders that are usually brightly colored. Their

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

is long and moderately high. The eyes are lateral. The abdomen is long with bright colorful patterns. Their legs are thin and slender. The genus has been described as

primitive Primitive may refer to: Mathematics * Primitive element (field theory) * Primitive element (finite field) * Primitive cell (crystallography) * Primitive notion, axiomatic systems * Primitive polynomial (disambiguation), one of two concepts * Pr ...

because of their pervasive use of

web Web most often refers to: * Spider web, a silken structure created by the animal * World Wide Web or the Web, an Internet-based hypertext system Web, WEB, or the Web may also refer to: Computing * WEB, a literate programming system created by ...

s, large posterior

median In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...

eyes, and the secretory organs on the femora of males. These characteristics were lost by advanced salticids. The genus are also almost wholly dependent on their vision. The primary mating season for the spider ''C. algerina'' is May. Juveniles emerge in July, grow to about half the adult size by winter, and then grow to adult size in the spring of the following year. The genus is commonly found on very rocky ground under rocks, or less often walking around on the ground or on the tops of rocks.

Silk and eggs

The spider spins silk on which to moult. ''Cyrba'' makes an egg sac by spinning a thick silk sheet on the side of a rock, and then ovipositing the eggs in the center, covering them with another layer of silk. The egg sacs have clusters of white spots. ''Cyrba'' spiders generally stay with their eggs until they hatch. In a laboratory, they do not spin silk for moulting or resting.

Diet

Spiders in this genus feed on other spiders, and prefer them to insects. They also feed on any insect that is caught in their silk. In a laboratory test to see if ''Cyrba'' spiders would attack other salticids, they did not. The spider ''C. algerina'' is the only spider in the genus that is known to hunt at night.

Species

, the World Spider Catalog accepted 9 species: * ''

Cyrba algerina ''Cyrba'' is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). The genus was erected by Hippolyte Lucas in 1846. Description ''Cyrba'' spiders are small to medium size spiders that are usually brightly colored. Their cephalothorax ...

'' (Lucas, 1846) –

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

to Central Asia * '' Cyrba boveyi'' Lessert, 1933 – Central Africa * '' Cyrba dotata'' Peckham & Peckham, 1903 – South Africa * ''

Cyrba legendrei ''Cyrba'' is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). The genus was erected by Hippolyte Lucas in 1846. Description ''Cyrba'' spiders are small to medium size spiders that are usually brightly colored. Their cephalotho ...

'' Wanless, 1984 – Madagascar, Comoro Islands * ''

Cyrba lineata ''Cyrba'' is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). The genus was erected by Hippolyte Lucas in 1846. Description ''Cyrba'' spiders are small to medium size spiders that are usually brightly colored. Their cephalotho ...

'' Wanless, 1984 – South Africa * '' Cyrba nigrimana'' Simon, 1900 – South,

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

* ''

Cyrba ocellata ''Cyrba'' is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). The genus was erected by Hippolyte Lucas in 1846. Description ''Cyrba'' spiders are small to medium size spiders that are usually brightly colored. Their cephalothorax ...

'' (Kroneberg, 1875) – Somalia,

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

* ''

Cyrba simoni ''Cyrba'' is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). The genus was erected by Hippolyte Lucas in 1846. Description ''Cyrba'' spiders are small to medium size spiders that are usually brightly colored. Their cephalothora ...

'' Wijesinghe, 1993 – tropical Africa * ''

Cyrba szechenyii ''Cyrba'' is a genus of spiders in the family Salticidae (jumping spiders). The genus was erected by Hippolyte Lucas in 1846. Description ''Cyrba'' spiders are small to medium size spiders that are usually brightly colored. Their cephalothora ...

'' Karsch, 1898 – Hong Kong

References

{{Taxonbar , from=Q1731898 Salticidae Salticidae genera Spiders of Africa Spiders of Australia Spiders of Asia