Tanzania (spider)

Tanzania
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Salticidae
Subfamily: Salticinae
Genus: Tanzania
Koçak & Kemal, 2008
Type species
Lilliput mkomaziensis
Wesolowska & Russell-Smith, 2000
Species

7, see text

Synonyms
  • Lilliput Wesolowska & Russell-Smith, 2000

Tanzania is a genus of jumping spiders that was first identified in Tanzania, after which it is named, but now is recognised to have a much wider distribution. First circumscribed in 2008, it is a small spider, between 1.5 and 3 millimetres (0.059 and 0.118 in) in length. Its type species is Tanzania mkomaziensis, which was originally described in 2000 with the name Lilliput mkomaziensis. Along with the rest of the spiders in the genus Lilliput, this was moved to Tanzania in 2008. The genus is related to Euophrys and Talavera.

Most spiders in this genus are found in Africa, with T. yellapragadai endemic to India.