Metacyrba taeniola taeniola (Hentz, 1845) - Jumping Spider


NA Range Map
Salticidae of North America
Richman, Cutler & Hill 2012

The video shows the eastern subspecies Metacyrba taeniola taeniola. This is the nominate or original form described by Hentz in 1845. The western subspecies Metacyrba taeniola similis, not unexpectedly, is similar to M. t. taeniola in its general appearance. The two can be separated, however, by the femur color of leg IV (the hindmost legs) which is black in M. t. taeniola and reddish orange in M. t. similis. By definition, subspecies of a given organism are capable of (or assumed to be capable of) interbreeding but often because their ranges are not contiguous the two populations are separate and develop superficially different characters. Interestingly in this case, Edwards gives three records of M. t. taeniola from Arizona and New Mexico representing a small disjunct group that are actually within the range of M. t. similis. How this isolated group established itself is a puzzle.
Edwards, 2005; Wikipedia, "Subspecies"