Hentzia


Hentzia is a genus of the spider family Salticidae subfamily Dendryphantinae. The genus is widespread in North America and northern South America but the center of biodiversity seems to be primarily in the Caribbean and surrounding areas, with the greatest species diversity occurring in Cuba, which has seven species. Some outlier species, such as Hentzia poenitens and Hentzia fimbriata are found in western North America. It appears to be closely related to the genus Anicius from which it differs primarily in certain anatomical details. The genus is characterized by the females especially having hair pencils below the posterior medial eyes and spatulate hairs on the ventral margin of the first patella and distal femur. These characters are not found in Anicius and there are some differences in the structure of both male palpi and female epigyna. However, the anatomy is close enough that there is almost certainly some relationship.
Hentzia males perform fairly elaborate courtship displays and engage in both ritual agonistic displays and fighting, Displays have been observed in Hentzia palmarum, Hentzia mitrata, Hentzia antillana, and Hentzia grenada and are suspected in the rest.

Species

As of 2020, there were 22 recognized species: