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Meotipa

Meotipa is a genus of comb-footed spiders that was first described by Eugène Simon in 1895.

Distribution

Spiders in this genus are found in Asia, Papua New Guinea, and on the Pacific Islands.

Description

Females measure 2.5 to 6.0 mm in length, while males range from 1.1 to 1.8 mm.

Females of Meotipa differ from all other theridiids by the unusual outline of the abdomen, with the tip projected upward and backward over the spinnerets similar to some Argyrodes. Apically, there is a rounded knob bearing conspicuous black flattened spines or scales, often also present on the rear face of the abdomen. One or two pairs of lateral abdominal humps are characteristic.

The carapace bears relatively large eyes that are somewhat variable, being uniform in size or with middle eyes larger than side eyes. The eyes often have a reddish tinge. The anterior median eyes are darker than the other eyes, which are pearly white. The abdomen is vividly coloured in white and black, often with red.

The legs are often very long with leg I longer than leg IV.

Life style

These spiders exhibit strange resting behaviour, pivoting the body axis over 90 degrees so that it rests with one side turned towards the leaf surface, with legs wrapped in a semicircle on the leaf surface.

Species

, this genus includes 27 species:

In synonymy:

  • M. clementinae <small>(Petrunkevitch, 1930)</small> = Meotipa pulcherrima <small>(Mello-Leitão, 1917)</small>
  • M. jianglensis <small>(Zhu & Song, 1993)</small> = Meotipa vesiculosa <small>Simon, 1895</small>
  • M. mussau <small>Chrysanthus, 1975</small> = Meotipa pulcherrima <small>(Mello-Leitão, 1917)</small>

References