The cardinal jumper differs from the Johnson jumper (Phidippus johnsoni), in that both males and females of the cardinal jumper have, instead of the black carapaces of the Johnson jumper, red ones. But that is not unique within the genus Phidippus, as another species (P. whitmani) is also red, or marked with red, on both carapace and dorsal abdomen. The synonym, McCook’s jumper, was thought to denote a unique species distinguished by having two prominent, dark, longitudinally oriented, lateral stripes (or bands) on the dorsal abdomen, subdivided along their lengths into at least three somewhat distinct sections. [...]
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The positioning of the eyes (see Ubick et al, [2005], pg. 214) is consistent with spiders in the genus Phidippus, but the pattern of the dark marking on the dorsal abdomen is not typical for a P. johnsoni female, as described by Kaston, or by the Peckhams. This may be a female, though based on the morphology of its palps, which are not markedly swollen the way a male’s palps typically are in other spider families, and the absence of any suggestion of emboli (one has to look at the distal palps on both of the photos Galina supplied, as the first photo, above, does seem to show some minor distal swelling). However, in the Salticidae family, the emboli of the male’s palps are often not remarkably different from the distal segments of the female palp. [...] According to Dr. Breene, the common name for this spider, as accepted by the American Arachnological Society’s Common Names Committee–which Breene chaired–was the Johnson jumper, and that is the name I have used since. After all, when we use a common name for a spider, we should try to be consistent. If the same spider is called a redback jumper by one person, a redbacked spider by another, and a Johnson jumper by yet another, only confusion can result. And anything that reduces confusion is good, right? Well, regardless, it should be noted that many if not most professional arachnologists, such as my good friend, Dr. Pierre Paquin, wax quite unenthusiastic about the idea of granting even semi-official status to the common names of our spiders. [...] The salticids are distinctive, with a huge pair of anterior median eyes (AME) in the midst of the face. Except for the translucent green Magnolia Green Jumper (Lyssomanes viridis), all North American jumpers have AME that are flanked, laterally, by much smaller–though still large by most standards–anterior lateral eyes (ALE), as shown in Julia’s specimen. [...] |
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