Portian Salticids

Portian salticids, or just Portians, are a salticid species. They developed from modern salticids in the genus Portia over the course of the Anthropocene and Second Carboniferous.

Origin
Although modern Portia spiders are found throughout Africa and Asia, it was a Central African population that eventually became Portian salticids. Their range includes most of the supercontinent Pangea Proxima 1.

Description
Portians have much the same anatomy as other salticids. They resemble dead leaves, with lots of decorative ridges and edges built into their anatomy. Females are brownish-red and often vibrantly colored; males are generally darker in color and less vibrant, with occasional blue tinges.

Abilities
On the quicker and lighter side of salticid biology, Portians are nimble but fragile.

Society
Portian salticids were represented among the first species in the Terran Mingle. Portian, Hyllus, Helpis, and Mopsus salticids cooperatively developed the Proto-Terran Religion through communal storytelling and the invention of writing. In 0 PT, the Portians became the first ethno-cultural group to split off from the whole of the Mingle, something that would not happen again until about 200 years later with the formation of the Mopsus Coastal Culture. Using the isolation brought by the Eurasian mountain range and the hostility of the ants that lived there to their advantage, the breakaway group of Portians founded Great Portia and shunned the rest of the Mingle species, becoming the first Terran ethnostate.