Belippo
| Belippo | |
|---|---|
| female B. meridionalis | |
| juvenile female B. pulchra | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Salticidae |
| Subfamily: | Salticinae |
| Genus: | Belippo Simon, 1910[1] |
| Type species | |
| B. anguina Simon, 1910
| |
| Species | |
|
13, see text | |
Belippo is a genus of ant-mimicking African jumping spiders.[2] The genus was first described by Eugène Simon (1848-1924) in 1910.[3]
Life style
These are ground-dwelling spiders, usually collected from leaf litter. They generally mimic Crematogaster ants.[4]
Description
Belippo are small ant-like spiders with elongated bodies.[4]
The most characteristic feature of males is the movable retrolateral tibial apophysis. Females are characterized by the primary and secondary spermathecae joined by a thin, long canal. Carapace with shallow constriction, slightly higher in cephalic part, surface with punctured sculpture. Carapace with black eye field, covered in thin long colourless hairs with scattered white scales among them and long bristles near eyes. Two long trichobothria in constriction.[4]
Chelicerae long, promargin toothless, retromargin with four teeth, fangs long. Endites, labium and sternum dark brown. Abdomen elongate. Legs slender with four pairs of long ventral spines on tibiae I and two pairs on metatarsi.[4]
Taxonomy
The genus was last revised by Fred Wanless in 1978. Since then several species have been described.[4]
Species
-
B. calcarata
-
female B. meridionalis
-
female juvenile B. pulchra
As of October 2025, this genus includes thirteen species:[1]
- Belippo anguina Simon, 1909 – São Tomé and Príncipe (type species)
- Belippo attenuata Wesołowska & Haddad, 2014 – Lesotho
- Belippo calcarata (Roewer, 1942) – Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, DR Congo, Kenya, Angola, Mozambique, South Africa
- Belippo cygniformis Wanless, 1978 – Ghana
- Belippo eburnensis Wesołowska & Wiśniewski, 2020 – Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana
- Belippo elgonensis Wesołowska & Wiśniewski, 2015 – Kenya
- Belippo ibadan Wanless, 1978 – Nigeria
- Belippo meridionalis Wesołowska & Haddad, 2013 – South Africa
- Belippo milloti (Lessert, 1942) – Ivory Coast, Nigeria, DR Congo, Kenya
- Belippo nexilis (Simon, 1909) – São Tomé and Príncipe
- Belippo pulchra Haddad & Wesołowska, 2013 – South Africa
- Belippo terribilis Wesołowska & Wiśniewski, 2015 – Kenya
- Belippo viettei (Kraus, 1960) – São Tomé and Príncipe
References
- ^ a b "Genus Belippo". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-02.
- ^ Wesołowska, W.; Wiśniewski, K. (July 2015). "New data on Belippo and Myrmarachne of Kenya (Araneae: Salticidae: Myrmarachninae)". Zootaxa. 3980 (4): 547–61. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3980.4.5. PMID 26249971.
- ^ Simon, E. (1910). "Arachnides recueillis par L. Fea sur la côte occidentale d'Afrique. 2e partie". Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova. 44: 335–449.
- ^ a b c d e Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Van der Walt, V.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2025). The Salticidae of South Africa. Part 1 (A-Den). Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 31. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15222559. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.