Striped Jumper

Common name of a species of Jumping Spider (fig.), with the Latin scientific designation Epocilla calcarata. The genus name derives from the Ancient Macedonian Greek Epocillos (Ἐπόκιλλος), i.e. the name of a soldier in the army of Alexander the Great. Above, males have an orangey chestnut body, with white longitudinal stripes on the upper halves of the flanks of the abdomen, in between the top and flanks, as well as a pattern of three white stripes on its cephalothorax, i.e. the anterior part of its body. Six of its legs are near semi-translucent and pale greenish yellow in colour, whereas the two front legs are dark chestnut to black, with some white markings or patches. Males have bright yellow pedipalps, i.e. the appendages above the mouthparts, with dark chestnut tips. Females are slightly larger than males and have some different features. Above, females also have an orangey body but lighter than the orangey chestnut of males, and beside three white stripes on their cephalothorax, they also have an additional third white longitudinal stripe on the top of their abdomen, in the upper centre, in between and symmetrical to the stripes on the flanks, which are also broader than those in males, yet the top centre stripe is dented rather than straight. Unlike males, whose front legs are dark overall chestnut to black, all eight legs of females are near semi-translucent and pale greenish yellow, as is the underside of their cephalothorax. They also lack the dark tips on the pedipalps. Due to the broader white body stripes and the lack of the dark front legs and pedipalp tips, females appear overall lighter than males. Like many other members of this family, these Jumping Spiders are diurnal hunters. The Striped Jumper is distributed in China and across many parts of Southeast Asia. Epocilla calcarata is very similar in appearance to Epocilla blaireit, which is commonly known as the Orange Jumper, and also resembles Telamonia dimidiata, a Jumping Spider with the common designation Two-striped Jumping Spider. 回