Colonus

Bustamante, Abel A., Maddison, Wayne P. & Ruiz, Gustavo R. S., 2015, The jumping spider genus Thiodina Simon, 1900 reinterpreted, and revalidation of Colonus F. O. P-Cambridge, 1901 and Nilakantha Peckham & Peckham, 1901 (Araneae: Salticidae: Amycoida), Zootaxa 4012 (1), pp. 181-190 : 186-187

Colonus F. O.P.- Cambridge, 1901 gen. revalidated

Colonus F. O.P.- Cambridge, 1901 (June): 246 [type species fixed as Attus sylvanus Hentz, 1846 (under Article 70.3 of the present ICZN), misidentified as Attus puerperus Hentz, 1846 in the original designation (see Peckham & Peckham, 1909: 448)]; considered a junior synonym of Thiodina by Simon (1903: 1050).

Diagnosis. Among the group of amycoids united by bulbous sensory setae ( Cotinusa , Carabella , Colonus , Nilakantha , and others), Colonus stands out for its large body size and high carapace. In addition, almost all species have stereotypical markings not shared by the others: male carapace red-brown to black with a white ocular spot and short thin lateral bands, abdomen with two thin longitudinal white bands, and dark legs with honey-colored femur bases; female pale with two broad darker longitudinal bands, peppered with small black spots, on the abdomen. Nilakantha differs in being smaller, with males having broad bands on the carapace, lacking the bicolored femora, and having a prolateral apophysis on the palp. Although Nilakantha and Colonus have distinct appearances, phylogenetic analyses are needed to corroborate their separation and limits.

List of species. North American species ( C. hesperus new comb., C. puerperus comb. restored and C. sylvanus new comb.) have been revised (e.g. Richman & Vetter 2004) and their identities are considered well understood. The remaining species are in deep need of revision (despite Nogueira 2003), and therefore, only minimal taxonomic entries are given here to present original combinations and literature containing combinations with Thiodina . For a more detailed list, including synonymies, see World Spider Catalog (2015):