Tauala lepidus

Fact Box Species: Tauala lepidus This ID is based on a paper by F.R. Wanless and on Museum records in the Atlas of Living Australia - see below Family: Salticidae Body length: female: 6.5 mm male: 6 mm Habitat: On green leaves in rainforests Toxicity: May cause local inflammation

There are at least 12 described Tauala species as listed in the World Spider Catalog in 2017. Almost all are restricted to North Queensland as shown by the museum listings for Tauala shown in the Atlas of Living Australia, the exception being T. lepidus, the range of which evidently extends down to South Queensland, which is where the specimen in the above photo was found. For this reason it is assumed to be Tauala lepidus (possibly an immature example). Note that Tauala is similar to, and closely related to, the Helpis genus and has the same body shape but may be more colourful.

Known range: Only recorded as being in the area Cairns to Innisfail.

Spider(s) with a very similar appearance: Several other salticid genera with a similar body shape.