The October Spider of the Month (SOTM) is this bronze baryphas jumping spider (Baryphas ahenus; Salticidae), photographed by Nico Hattingh (can’t tag) in Ezemvelo Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga.
There are only six recorded Baryphas species in the world, all of them from Africa. Until recently, we only had this one species in South Africa. Last year, Charles Haddad and Mike Vickers described a second species (Baryphas parvulus), but they have been found only in northern KwaZulu-Natal (specifically in the Ndumo Game Reserve).
B. ahenus has been recorded in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South Africa. On iNaturalist, it is the most observed jumping spider species in South Africa (667 observations).
The genus was described in 1902 by Eugène Simon. I don’t know what “Baryphas” means, but the specific epithet “ahenus” is Latin for bronze/brass, referring to the colour of this species. There is, however, some variation in this species, and they range from brown to black to orange and bronze.
This is Nico’s first SOTM. Of the 168 people who voted, this photo received 85 (51%) votes. Nico only recently started posting photos on this group, and it’s clear that he’s going to be a prominent figure in the SOTM poll, considering that all four of his SOTM nominations ended in the Top 5. The only other person to give him a run for his money was Charl du Plessis, with his photo of an arid rain spider (Parapalystes sp.) in third place. Congratulations, Nico, and please keep on posting your awesome photos!