pretty spidey
on 20th November 2006
About 20mm leg-span, inside on house wall, jumped athletically.
Other observations of Dandy Spider (Portia schultzi)
Comments
Woah...
If Wynand is right, and I think he is, Portia schultzi is a tiny spider. Body length 6mm max.
Well spotted!
I see up to 7mm max (females). I estimated my one ob at 9mm, but I may have been wrong.
20mm would be a whopper!
Bushboy, are you not stating the length including legs? That would be right for P. schultzi. It is a very distinctive spider.
six+ year-old pic
I can't be sure after so long, but it wasn't a big spider. My note ("tag") with the filed image says "061120 Uv; 20 mm". I've become much more diligent with measurements since joining iSpot. I do remember it jumping from the wall, over the piece of paper I was trying to coax it onto, onto my arm. Thinking it through, with front legs about 3 times as long as the body, if a 60mm spider jumped onto my bare arm, my skrik would have been considerably greater! So, scrub the "20mm BODY" and replace with "20mm leg-span"
Ok
But a 60mm jumping spider would have been a more exciting ob.
Portia schultzi
Portia schultzi is fascinating, much discussed on another ob (http://ispot.org.za/node/171298). If Salticidae are champion hunters, Portia schultzi is the mother of them all, as they hunt jumping spiders!
Thanks Wynand
Yes! I think you've got it!