Tag: PHILODROMIDAE

The running spider, or false-crab spider. These are avid hunters, very fast and agile. Their first 2 leg pains being significantly longer than the others can make them appear to be crab spiders but without the robust body, earning them the false-crab spider moniker. They are medically insignificant to humans.

PHILODROMUS BRACHYCEPHALUS

PHILODROMUS BRACHYCEPHALUS

by anikekirsten
Adult male P. brachycephalus

Taxon:

  • Class: Arachnida
  • Order: Araneae
  • Infra-Order: Araneamorph (true spiders)
  • Family: Philodromidae
  • Genus: Philodromus
  • Species: P. brachycephalus

Female

Unknown.

Male

Around 6mm in body length. Leg span of approximately 18mm diagonally.

Cephalothorax:
Carapace light brown with dark stripe down centre and dark stripe either side in line with posterior lateral eyes, and faint small spots all over. Sternum round and pale. Pedipalps same as legs with darkened and swollen tarsi.

Abdomen:
Abdomen tapered, brown, dorsal with dark heart mark bordered by light lines, spotted faintly. Ventral light and plain.

Legs:
Thin long brown legs with small dark spots. 2, 1, 4, 3.

Adult male P. brachycephalus

ABOUT THE GENUS

Philodromus, which is the type genus for the family Philodromidae, is a large and wide-spread genus, having over 250 described species within it. These spiders have flattened bodies and are generally medium sized at an average of 7mm in body length. They are ambush predators that lay in wait of prey by flattening their limbs, and can be found on various substrates, from the ground up into trees.

PHILODROMUS BROWNINGI

PHILODROMUS BROWNINGI

by anikekirsten
Adult male P. browingi

Taxon:

  • Class: Arachnida
  • Order: Araneae
  • Infra-Order: Araneamorph (true spiders)
  • Family: Philodromidae
  • Genus: Philodromus
  • Species: P. browningi

Female

Unknown.

Male

Around 8mm in body length. Leg span of approximately 17mm diagonally.

Cephalothorax:
Light brown. Round cephalothorax. Carapace with light stripe down centre and thin dark stripe inside it, behind eyes. Two dark spots on each jaw. Whitish sternum with rings of small dark spots around edges. Pedipalps long and thin, pyramid, dark. Palps with dark hairs.

Abdomen:
Flat, pointy oval abdomen with sharp tip at the end, two thin dark stripes centre anterior dorsal inside light triangle mark from anterior to near spinnerets, whitish “ruffles” on edges of triangle point. Whitish ventral abdomen with dark spot anterior centre and two faint thin dark stripes running toward spinnerets. Spinnerets yellowish.

Legs:
Thin long brown legs with dark spots. Dark setae. Second leg pair longest, first slightly shorter, third shortest.

Adult male P. browingi

ABOUT THE GENUS

Philodromus, which is the type genus for the family Philodromidae, is a large and wide-spread genus, having over 250 described species within it. P. browningi is, too, wide-spread in South Africa and has been recorded in every province, partly due to the spiderlings using a ballooning technique to ride the wind and reach a new area. These spiders have flattened bodies and are generally medium sized at an average of 7mm in body length. They are ambush predators that lay in wait of prey by flattening their limbs, and can be found on various substrates, from the ground up into trees.

TIBELLUS SUNETAE

TIBELLUS SUNETAE

by anikekirsten
Adult female T. sunetae

Taxon:

  • Class: Arachnida
  • Order: Araneae
  • Infra-Order: Araneamorph (true spiders)
  • Family: Philodromidae
  • Genus: Tibellus
  • Species: T. sunetae

Female

Around 5mm in body length. Leg span of approximately 10mm diagonally.

Cephalothorax:
Long and pale yellow carapace with thick darker yellowish brown band down centre, faint bands near edges, and dark spots all over. Dark setae on cylpeus and around eyes. Darker yellow tarsus on pedipalps.

Abdomen:
Long, thin, creamy abdomen that tapers to spinnerets, with thick brownish-grey line down centre, faint lines on sides, and brown spots all over dorsal side.

Legs:
Yellow with scattered dark spots and dark setae. Metatarsus and tarsus darker yellow. Leg formation of 2, 1, 4, 3.

Male

Unknown.

ABOUT THE GENUS

This genus of running spider is rather unique among the South African known genera. With their long, thin bodies, and their legs not being too long, Tibellus spiders are masters of camouflage. They live on and make their egg sacs in grass where they’re most protected.

For this lady, it was a matter of the long body and the leg formation typical of running spiders that pointed me to the genus Tibellus. Then it was off to the literature to find her species.

And, thanks to a revision in the Afrotropical species of Tibellus, I was able to narrow it down using the drawings, then reading through the descriptions of each species to find the one that fit. And that is Tibellus sunetae mainly for the dorsal markings, the spots, and the leg formation along with colouration.