''Messua'' is a

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 ...

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 ...

of 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 ...

(jumping spiders).

Etymology

The genus name is derived from Messua, a female 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 ...

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 ...

. Other salticid genera with names of Kipling's characters are '' Akela'', ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Nagaina ''Nagaina'' is a genus of Salticidae, jumping spiders that was first described by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1896. The name is derived from ''Nagaina'', a character from Rudyard Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. Other salticid genera with names of ...

''.

Taxonomy

The genus was first described in 1896 by American

arachnologist Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, ticks, and mites. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly ...

George and Elizabeth Peckham George Williams Peckham (March 23, 1845 – January 10, 1914) and Elizabeth Maria Gifford Peckham (December 19, 1854 – February 11, 1940) were a married couple who were early American teachers, Taxonomy (biology), taxonomists, ...

based on the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

'' Messua desidiosa''. The genus ''Messua'' was synonymized with '' Zygoballus'' by

Eugène Simon Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects and spiders, but also on birds and plants. He is by far the most prolific spider Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist in history, ...

in 1903. After examining the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

for ''Messua desidiosa'', Simon commented that it was "much less divergent from typical ''Zygoballus'' than he Peckhams'description would indicate." This was reversed by

Wayne Maddison Wayne Paul Maddison (born 1958) is a Canadian evolutionary biologist, arachnologist, and biological illustrator. He is Canada Research Chair in Biodiversity and a professor at the departments of zoology and botany at the University of British ...

in 1996, and ''Messua'' restored as a valid genus. Maddison also transferred several species that had previously been placed in ''

Metaphidippus ''Metaphidippus'' is a genus of Salticidae, jumping spiders that was first described by Frederick Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1901. The name is combined from Ancient Greek μετά "after, beside" and the salticid genus ''Phidippus''. Species ...

'' into ''Messua''.

Species

* '' Messua centralis'' (Peckham & Peckham, 1896) –

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

* '' Messua dentigera'' ( F. O. P-Cambridge, 1901) –

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 ...

to Panama * '' Messua desidiosa'' Peckham & Peckham, 1896 –

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 ...

, Panama * '' Messua donalda'' (Kraus, 1955) –

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

* '' Messua latior'' ( Roewer, 1955) – Panama * '' Messua laxa'' ( Chickering, 1946) – Panama * '' Messua limbata'' (

Banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. As banks ...

, 1898) – United States, Mexico * '' Messua moma'' (F. O. P.-Cambridge, 1901) – Guatemala to Guyana * '' Messua octonotata'' (F. O. P.-Cambridge, 1901) –

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

* '' Messua pura'' (Bryant, 1948) – Mexico * '' Messua tridentata'' (F. O. P.-Cambridge, 1901) – Mexico

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q508709 Salticidae Salticidae genera Spiders of North America