Taxon:
- Class: Arachnida
- Order: Araneae
- Infra-Order: Araneamorph (true spiders)
- Family: Salticidae
- Genus: Natta
- Species: N. horizontalis
Female
Around 10mm in body length. Leg span of approximately 13mm diagonally.
Cephalothorax:
Carapace raised in cephalic region, reddish brown and darker along sides with white line on margins. White stripes across ocular region and clypeus. Chelicera reddish. Pedipalps brown with white bands, tarsi white. Sternum oval, light grey with dark spot in centre.
Abdomen:
Abdomen large and tapered, dorsal dark with tear-drop shape marking of reddish white and black spots encompassing darker tear-shape inside and point ending in white spot near spinerettes. Ventral light, silverish with white border, epigyne with dark spot.
Legs:
First leg pair thickest, dark reddish with faint white bands on joints. Other legs reddish. 4, 1, 3, 2.
Male
Unknown.
ABOUT THE GENUS
Natta spiders are ant-eaters by preference1, which is rare for jumping spiders and often only seen in ant-mimicking species. The males are more convincing as ant-mimics though the females also sport the bulkier forelegs and the antennae-like behaviour in moving them around. There are only two species in this genus, both of which are found in South Africa.
Spiders in & around Orania 