Jumping into September

 

This jumping spider was exploring the sand and piles of bleached drift algae on the upper beach on 31 August 2012.  

Here's a dorsal view showing the bronzy (autumnal) upper surfaces of the cephalothorax and the abdomen (the lower surfaces were entirely black).

 

  

It was striking how well the color of this salticid matched the color of the dried seaweeds (see below).

 

Here are a few more photos of the spider in different positions.  Note that these sand grains were very coarse.  The spider itself was close to 1 cm long.

 

 

I'm wondering if this is Terralonus californicus?  Although its coloration is quite different from other individuals I've seen in this habitat (see post from 11 March 2012), perhaps this species is just variable.  If you have any thoughts about the identification, please offer your suggestions.

Another note: There were quite a few very small jumping spiders in the wrack line yesterday.  I don't have a feel for their life cycle yet, but this might be a good time of year to see juveniles.