Hyllus giganteus

Hyllus giganteus, commonly referred to as the giant jumping spider, is a jumping spider found throughout Southeast Asia.^[1][2] This species is recognized as one of the largest jumping spiders known to science, ranging from 1.8–2.5 centimetres (0.71–0.98 in) in length.^[3]

Hyllus giganteus
Male from Workman, 1896. Specimen from Sulawesi.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Salticidae
Subfamily:	Salticinae
Genus:	Hyllus
Species:	H. giganteus
Binomial name
Hyllus giganteus Koch, 1846

Discovery

The giant jumping spider was first discovered in 1846 by German arachnologist Carl Ludwig Koch and was first mentioned in his cowritten book The arachnids: Depicted and described true to nature.^[4][5]

Description

Hyllus giganteus is often confused for other species, especially Hyllus diardi.^[6] Females can be distinguished by their distinctive stripes at the front around their “face”, and black band across the carapace. They also have a mottled abdomen, with different shades of brown and beige. Males mature darker in colour, with less setae and longer appendages. The males also have long chelicerae which point in opposite directions, similar to that of Hyllus walckenaeri.

Venom

Hyllus giganteus is venomous, but the venom is not generally harmful to people.^[7]