Intraspecific interactions Asemonea tenuipes, a lyssomanine jumping spider (Araneae: Salticidae) from Singapore

Abstract

The display and courtship behaviour of a Singapore population of Asemonea tenuipes (O. P. -Cambridge, 1869) was studied. This is an iridescent lyssomanine jumping spider and the present study is the first to be carried out on this species under a full-spectrum light. A previous study was carried out on a population of this same species from Sri Lanka, but under light conditions lacking of UV. Findings from the present and the earlier study are, on the whole similar, but there are also some differences that may represent interpopulation variation or may be a consequence of the different lighting conditions. A. tenuipes is most often found on the underside of leaves in mangroves. Colours are sexually dimorphic. Males have bluish-purple iridescence and orange colour on the dorsal abdomen, while females are generally a pale whitish-green. Twenty-five major displays are described. While the intraspecific display repertoire of Singapore A. tenuipes was similar to the Sri Lanka population, the context (male-female, male-male and female-female interactions) in which certain displays were performed differed between the two populations. In addition, although zigzag dancing was not observed in the Sri Lankan population, a variation of this display was observed in the Singapore A. tenuipes. Rotated posturing is an aberrant display, observed in A. tenuipes but not other salticid species. Whether this display might function to advertise honestly male quality is discussed. One of the most interesting findings is that males of the Singapore A. tenuipes males often perform prolonged display posturing even when their anterior-median eyes are not aligned with the female. The anterior-median eyes of salticids are the part of the visual system responsible for seeing detail based on high spatial acuity. That A. tenuipes males display in the absence of detail from these eyes suggests that there is unusually strong reliance on chemical cues by this species during courtship © National University of Singapore.