Fringed Jumping Spider
Portia fimbriata
15.4561, 119.921
Field Notes
Description:
Salticidae; Portia; Portia fimbriata (Doleschall, 1859). In https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portia_(spider), There is a great deal of very interesting information about the Genus Portia and, at the head of the Classification Table, there is a photo of Portia fimbriata which looks like my specimen. At the bottom of the Wiki article, there is a list of Portia spp. and it shows only one species present in Philippines, Portia labiata (on checking various websites, this does not match my spider). So, the question of distribution arises again. I then checked in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portia_fimbriata and saw that distribution is shown as Australia and Southeast Asia. Since Philippines is pretty much in the centre of Southeast Asia, I think that the problem of distribution is now resolved. Also, in the Reproduction and Lifecycle section, there is a very nice photo which confirms that my specimen is a male.
Habitat:
This Fringed Jumping Spider was spotted this morning in our backyard moving around on leafy pot plants.
Notes:
I would like to recommend that anyone interested in Jumping Spiders should visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portia_(spider) and have a look at the Section on "Intelligence". I seem to remember Ranger SukanyaDatta's comment about looking at the the eyes of jumping spiders and sensing that they had great intelligence (or words to that effect). Well, it appears that she was right and, according to Wikipedia, Portia spp. have the ability to learn from their mistakes, try out new hunting strategies, plan ahead and much more. I keep going back to read it again and again. The spiders are magnificent and so too are the scientists who have documented all of this for us to learn and enjoy.
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