Diagnoses of genera of South East Asia: 51.5 Broad, squat, hairy, brownish salticids with flattish carapace.Genus: Rhene. This is a quite a large, widespread genus of small furry salticids with broad, oblong carapaces. They are often to be found spun up in retreats in the seed heads of plants. Typically the cephalothorax is fairly thick and flat on top. In plan, the carapace is broader than long and widest at the level of the rear eyes. The flat top is almost trapezoidal in shape, widest just behind the rear eyes and narrowest at the front row of eyes. The sides and most of the thorax are vertical, with the rear margin very wide and truncate. The abdomen is oval, slightly truncate at the front and slightly pointed at the rear. The legs are fairly sturdy with the femora, patellae and tibiae noticeably swollen. For the male R. flavigera the underlying colour of both carapace and abdomen is brown becoming darker towards the eyes and towards the spinnerets. Along the top of the front row of eyes and each side of the cephalus there is a band of long, very white hairs. There is also a very narrow band of white hairs along the lateral margins. On the abdomen, starting at the shoulders and proceeding down the sides, there are triangular areas of very white hairs. Nearer to the spinnerets there is a wide belt of similar white hairs. Altogether this gives the male a striking appearance. The female is less well marked and much more furry looking. The top of the carapace is covered in whitish hairs. Save for a brown area near the spinnerets the abdomen is entirely covered with fawn coloured hairs with a few vague, thin, wavy, transverse, white lines. The femora, patellae and tibiae of legs I are brown, with the metatarsi and tarsi yellowish-brown. Legs II are a paler edition of legs I, whilst legs III and IV are yellowish-brown with brown annulations.
Distribution: The range of Rhene runs from Africa to Japan, Philippines and Sulawesi, but not to Papua New Guinea and Australia. There are a few species recorded from Central America and Brazil. Murphy & Murphy 2000: 315. By courtesy of the Authors' and the Malaysian Nature Society.