Round ant eater

Omoedus orbiculatus

A medium-sized jumping spider in coastal areas from southern NSW to Exmouth WA, probably in all Australian coastal areas including Tasmania.
Round ant eater. Almost all black with a white mark on the abdomen. Found on wattle tree moving fast up and down on branches. Had a small species of ant present ( not identified ) Eamw spiders,Jumping spider,Omoedus orbiculatus,Round ant eater

Appearance

The body is brown to black, the female having a circular abdomen fringed with white, a white dot in the centre. Legs brownish to nearly black. Cephalothorax with white scales marking out the eye quadrangle, the male's markings more obvious. The male's more slender abdomen has a white crescent above the spinnerets.
♀ 9mm ♂ 7mm
Round ant eater. Black with a white mark on abdomen. Hunting for ants on a wattle tree. Eamw spiders,Jumping Spider,Omoedus orbiculatus,Round ant eater,Salticid

Naming

Keyserling, 1881
First described Hasarius orbiculatus by Keyserling in 1881, placed in Pystira by Simon in 1901, transferred to Zenodorus by Zabka and Davies in 1989. Zenodorus was also the name of a Greek mathematician 200-140 BC

Distribution

Southern NSW to Exmouth WA, probably in all Australian coastal areas including Tasmania.

Behavior

They hunt during the day by ambush or active pursuit, often on tree trunks, preferring ants but also eating other insects.

Food

Ants and other insects.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

http://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=1611
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassArachnida
OrderAraneae
FamilySalticidae
GenusOmoedus
SpeciesOmoedus orbiculatus
Photographed in
Australia