Color phot [L. latidens ] [TYPE SPECIES L. latidens] [L. opelli ] [L. sp. from Flores ]
Diagnoses of genera of South East Asia: 51.5 Broad, squat, hairy, brownish salticids with flattish carapace. Found on shrubs and plants. General remarks: Although not brightly coloured, these spiders often have smart, attractive patterns. Characteristic is the shape of the broad, flat thinnish carapace and the swollen front legs which are held curled inwards, just in front. From above, the combination of the carapace and the front legs reminds one strongly of a very small crab. On the sides of the carapace of some species there are dense white hairs that stick out sideways. When viewed from the front, the spider resembles a miniature, bright eyed Father Christmas. These spiders are not very large and are found in retreats in the seed heads of plants or between two small leaves close together. Except in their cheliceral dentition, the three genera Ligurra, Simaetha and Stertinius are very close and may well prove to be synonymous.
Genus: Ligurra. See Koh, p. 109. This is a salticid genus of
rather squat appearance whose cephalothorax is broader than long. They live
on shrubs in rain forest and also occur on mangroves. The cephalothorax has
a flat top which is parallel to its base, with the rear of the thorax steep
and the sides undercut. In plan, the carapace is oval, broader than longer (about
4:3) and widest at the level of the rear eyes. The eye pattern is 2,2,2,2 with
the rows increasing in width from the narrow front row to the very wide back
row. The colour is orange brown with bushy, long white hairs on the sides and
front, narrow white marginal band on the sides and bronze coloured, iridescent,
squamose'hairs on the cephalus. The very robust, orange coloured, and somewhat
projecting chelicerae diverge noticeably on the male and carry a large, very
long, pointed tooth near the base. The abdomen is a broad oval and slightly
pointed near the spinnerets. The male carries an entire, brownish-orange, dorsal
scutum bearing several pairs of sigilla medially. The entire carapace and the
dorsal side of the abdomen are covered by bronze coloured iridescent, squamose
hairs. The scutum is bordered with a thin line of white hairs. The female does
not have a scutum, is basically light brown with a series of dark brown patches.
The medial series of pairs of sigilla and the covering of bronze, iridescent,
squamose hairs are again evident. The quite robust front legs are longer on
the male, orange-brown in colour with the tarsi lighter. The remaining legs
are small in comparison, lighter orange-brown in colour with the tarsi yellowish.
The legs have a few weakish spines on the rear legs and a few short, robust
spines, ventrally, on the tibiae and metatarsi of leg I. Ligurra is similar
in appearance to Rhene.
Distribution: Ligurra is known from P. Malaysia to the Philippines.
Murphy & Murphy 2000:
313-314. By courtesy of the Authors' and the Malaysian Nature Society.
Copyright © for the page by J. Proszynski, 2000.