''Jotus remus'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

in 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 ...

, found in Australia (

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

). It was first described in 2016. Males of ''Jotus remus'' are distinguished from other species in the genus ''

Jotus ''Jotus'' is a spider genus of the family Salticidae (jumping spiders), native to Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia. There are thought to be many as yet undescribed species in southern Australia. Species , the World Spider Catalog accepted t ...

'' by the presence of "paddles" formed by long bristles (setae) on the

metatarsus The metatarsal bones or metatarsus (: metatarsi) are a group of five long bones in the midfoot, located between the tarsal bones (which form the heel and the ankle) and the phalanges ( toes). Lacking individual names, the metatarsal bones are ...

and tarsus of the third pair of legs. The paddles are flattened parallel to the male's body. They are used to attract females by waving them over the edge of a leaf while the male is on the opposite side to the female. The female initially attempts to attack the paddle, but males are skillful at avoiding such attacks. Eventually the female ceases to attack, and the male is able to move to the female's side of the leaf and mate rapidly. Females are difficult to distinguish from those of other ''Jotus'' species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q27504726 Salticidae Spiders of Australia Spiders described in 2016