Tusitala

Tusitala
	female T. barbata
	female T. barbata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Salticidae
Subfamily:	Salticinae
Genus:	Tusitala; Peckham & Peckham, 1902
Type species
	T. barbata; Peckham & Peckham, 1902
Species
	13, see text
Synonyms
	Blaisea Simon, 1903 ; Monclova G. W. Peckham & E. G. Peckham, 1902 ;

Tusitala is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1902.^[2] The name is Samoan, meaning "writer of stories". It is considered a senior synonym of Blaisea.^[3]

Distribution

All but one described species are found in Africa, with T. yemenica endemic to nearby Yemen.^[1]

As of October 2025, this genus includes thirteen species:^[1]

Tusitala ansieae Azarkina & Foord, 2015 – Botswana
Tusitala bandama Wesołowska & Russell-Smith, 2022 – Ivory Coast
Tusitala barbata G. W. Peckham & E. G. Peckham, 1902 – Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa (type species)
Tusitala cornuta Wesołowska & Russell-Smith, 2022 – Ivory Coast
Tusitala discibulba Caporiacco, 1941 – Ethiopia
Tusitala guineensis Berland & Millot, 1941 – Guinea, Ivory Coast
Tusitala hirsuta G. W. Peckham & E. G. Peckham, 1902 – Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa
Tusitala lutzi Lessert, 1927 – Ivory Coast, DR Congo
Tusitala lyrata (Simon, 1903) – Guinea, DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique
Tusitala proxima Wesołowska & Russell-Smith, 2000 – Tanzania
Tusitala ugandensis Wiśniewski & Wesołowska, 2024 – Uganda
Tusitala unica Wesołowska & Russell-Smith, 2000 – Tanzania
Tusitala yemenica Wesołowska & van Harten, 1994 – Yemen

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Gen. Tusitala G. W. Peckham & E. G. Peckham, 1902". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
^ Peckham, G. W.; Peckham, E. G. (1902). "Some new genera and species of Attidae from South Africa". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 9 (312): 330–335. doi:10.1155/1902/13502.
^ Wesolowska, W.; Tomasiewicz, B. (2003). "Blaisea Simon, 1902 synonymised with Tusitala Peckham et Peckham, 1902 (Araneae: Salticidae)". Annales Zoologici, Warszawa. 53: 719.