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: Irura. This is a genus of small, squat salticids with broad carapaces such as seen also in Rhene, Simaetha and Ligurra. In appearance it is said to be close to Simaetha. The carapace is flat, oval, broader than long, widest at the level of the rear eyes and moderately truncated at the rear. The abdomen is a broad oval that tapers very slightly to the rear. Legs I are not particularly long and much more robust than the others and carry quite strong spines, ventrally, on the tibiae and metatarsi. For the female of I. mandarina the carapace is orange-brown and covered with iridescent, grey and orange, squamose hairs, with the eye surrounds grey-brown. The abdomen is yellowish-grey carrying numerous fine, shiny, yellow and orange-brown hairs and a number of characteristic, orange-coloured sigilla. Legs I are orange-brown in colour and covered in fine orange brown hairs. The remaining legs are paler.
Distribution: Irura is known only from Sri Lanka, P. Malaysia and Vietnam. Murphy & Murphy 2000: 312-313. By courtesy of the Authors' and the Malaysian Nature Society.