Banded Metalic-Green Jumping Spider

A spectacularly-coloured jumping spider with iridescent, metallic-looking, turqoise-green coloured bands across the carapace, a white stripe along the front edge and sides of the abdomen, a central white stripe running lengthways down the abdomen and white and turquoise bands on the legs - otherwise mostly jet black. In Australia its range is Queensland from the wet tropics to (rarely) SEQ, including central Mackay coast and desert uplands but probably only in riverine rainforest in southern and central areas. Also in New Guinea and South East Asia. The carapace is high, widest behind the posterior lateral eyes sloping quite steeply to the margins. The abdomen is long, more or less cigar-shaped, a little flattish on top and tapering towards the spinnerets. It feeds on ants and other arthropods. The name cosmo means world and phasis means phase, aspect, appearance, or way. It may refer to the way the cephalothorax, if spherical, might resemble a world, with bands of oceans and continents. The word micans is from the Latin micare to vibrate and sparkle, hence sparkling, shiny, iridiscent. ♀ 5mm ♂ 8mm