Chinattus sinensis

Chinattus sinensis, commonly known as the Chinese Mountain Jumping Spider, is a species of jumping spider in the family Salticidae. It is endemic to China.^[1]

The species was originally described by Jerzy Prószyński in 1992 as Habrocestoides sinensis.^[2] In 1999, Logunov transferred the species to the genus Chinattus when he redefined Habrocestoides and established Chinattus as a new genus.^[3] As of 2021, Logunov suggested that C. sinensis is probably a junior synonym of Chinattus undulatus, though this synonymy has not been formally established.^[4]

C. sinensis is known from China, where it was first collected in 1948 in "Suisapa" (Shuishanba 水山坝, near Lichuan City), West Hubei.^[2] The species appears to be restricted to mountainous regions of China.^[1]

Only the male of C. sinensis has been described. The male is a small spider with dull coloration featuring a brown cephalothorax and a greyish abdomen with an indistinct whitish pattern on the posterior portion and a weak semicrescent line in the anterior half.^[2]

The frontal aspect shows light yellowish fawn chelicerae and clypeus that contrast with the dark eye field. The pedipalps are brown with a thin streak of white setae running dorsally along the mid-line of the cymbium and tibia. The tibial apophysis is robust and short hook-shaped, while the embolus is relatively thick and characteristically bent. The shape of the bulbus and triangular white area are also distinctive features that help distinguish this species from related taxa.^[2]