A phylogenetic analysis of five sequenced genes ( 28S , 16S , EF1 -a, CO1 , ND1 ) from 81 genera of jumping spiders (Salticidae) and five outgroups supports the monophyly of the Dendryphantinae and Euophryinae and refines the concepts of the Plexippinae and Pelleninae. The clade that excludes lyssomanines and spartaeines and contains the bulk of salticid species is formally named as the Salticoida. The previously proposed clade delimited by an embolus articulated and separated from the tegulum by a developed distal hematodocha (as opposed to fused immovably to the tegulum) is rejected, suggesting the 'free embolus' evolved independently several times. Three major clades are discovered, the Marpissoida (including Dendryphantinae, Marpissinae and smaller groups such as synagelines), the Plexippoida (plexippines plus pellenines) and the Amycoida (including Amycinae, Sitticinae, Hyetusseae, Hurieae, Synemosyninae). The amycoids form a large neotropical radiation from which only a single known group ( Sitticus and Attulus ) has reached the Old World. The marpissoids also constitute a major New World group with relatively few species in the Old World. In contrast, the Plexippoida is predominantly an Old World group (except for the spectacular radiation of Habronattus in North America), as is the Heliophaninae. These results suggest that much of salticid diversification occurred after the separation of the continents of the Old World and New World.