Common iris spider

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Common iris spider
Common iris spider (Micaria pulicaria), female

Common iris spider ( Micaria pulicaria ), female

Systematics
Order : Spiders (Araneae)
Subordination : Real spiders (Araneomorphae)
Superfamily : Gnaphosoidea
Family : Flat-bellied spiders (Gnaphosidae)
Genus : Schiller spiders ( Micaria )
Type : Common iris spider
Scientific name
Micaria pulicaria
( Sundevall , 1831)

The Ordinary Schiller spider or Ordinary ants Plattbauch spider ( Micaria pulicaria ) is a spider of the genus Schiller spiders ( Micaria ) from the family of ground spider ( Gnaphosidae ).

It is one of the so-called ant spiders and is often called that because it looks like a large ant on the outside or mimics it in shape ( mimicry ). However, this also applies to some other species of spider, which can be confusing. The English-language common name of the species is Glossy ant spider (translated: "Shiny ant spider ").

The common shimmering spider is widespread in the Holarctic . Like all shimmering spiders , the diurnal species inhabits a large number of habitats there, but like many other flat-bellied spiders is xerothermophilic , so prefers dry and warm habitats. Like all species of the family, it rests in a web of flats at night and hunts other arthropods during the day as a runner (i.e. without a cobweb ) . Unlike some other ant spiders, the species not only preyes on ants, but is an opportunistic predator.

In the past, the genus of the black spider , including the common black spider , was assigned to the family of the flat-bellied spiders ( Clubiona ), which is closely related and visually similar , which was justified by the conical spinnerets typical of the latter family . This affiliation is now considered refuted.

features

male

The female of the common iris spider reaches a body length of 2.7 to 4.5 and the male one of three to four millimeters. The body structure corresponds to that of other shimmering spiders ( Micaria ), with which this species also imitates ants ( mimicry ) with its elongated opisthosoma (abdomen ). Both sexes look very similar, the sex dimorphism is only slightly pronounced.

The prosoma (front body) has a length of 1.3 to 1.8 millimeters. The carapace (back shield of the prosoma) is dark brown to black in color and is also provided with six even radial stripes that start from the fovea (apodem) and consist of white hairs. The head and the center of the carapace appear shiny silver.

The legs have a yellowish basic color. The femora (thighs) of the first and second pair of legs and the coxae (hip joints) appear black. On the other hand, the femora of the third and fourth pair of legs are always uniformly colored, unlike other shimmering spiders. The coxae and trochanters (thigh rings) of pairs of legs two to four have white hair on the dorsal side. In the female, unlike in the male, the tibia (splints) of the first and second pair of legs on the ventral side are not provided with bristles. The pedipalps (transformed extremities in the head area) are simply built.

The opisthosoma (abdomen) has a black-gray to black color and, moreover, an iridescence produced by refraction of light . It has a short white crossbar at the front and a white crossbar to the rear in the center. Behind it is a row of two to three also white dots. However, these can also be grown together and thus form a line. Both possible formations also extend to the two lateral edges of the opisthosoma.

Structure of the genital organs

The bulbi (male genital organs) of the common shimmering spider each have a greatly elongated retinaculum (retaining strap). Also located here, unlike most other Schiller spiders ( Micaria at any single bulb) a bristle on the cymbium (front sclerite , or hard part of the eyeball). In the tegulum (middle sclerite of the globe) the retrolateral (backward facing) edge is almost straight and the embolus (last sclerite of the globe) is strongly built. The terminal (at the end) curve of the spermatophore (cavity for the transport of the sperm) is located in the distal half of the embolus.

The epigyne (female sex organ) of the common iris spider is wider than it is long. The anterior-transverse (presented and transverse) fold is straight to slightly curved and the copulation ducts are uniformly curved.

Similar species

Femora of the common (right) and the Strepbone shimmering spider ( M. micans ) in comparison

The species-rich genus of the Schillerspinnen ( Micaria ) has several species similar to the common Schillerspider. One of these species is the Streifbein-Schillerspider ( M. micans ), which often occurs together with the Common Schiller Spider , but in contrast to this is only represented in Europe and Central Asia . An essential distinguishing feature of the Streifbein-Schillerspider is the longitudinal stripes on the dorsal side of the femora of the fourth pair of legs, which the common Schillerspider lacks there or in which the femora of the third and fourth pair of legs are uniformly colored. A precise distinction is also possible in the males of the two species on the basis of genital morphological characteristics. The tegulum of a single bulb of the male of the Strepbone Shimmering Spider is notched retrolaterally and the embolus is much slimmer than that of the Common Shiller Spider. In addition, the terminal curve of the spermatophore is basal in the case of the Streifbein-Schillerspinne. The epigyne of the female of this species is the same length as it is wide and the anterior-transverse fold is here curved in an M-shape. Furthermore, the copulation channels here run only partially parallel and not curved uniformly to one another.

Prepared female of the bark iris spider ( Micaria subopaca ) with partially missing legs

Another species within the genus of the common shimmering spider , which is very similar to the common shimmering spider , is the bark shimmering spider ( M. subopaca ), which, however, can be found predominantly on the trunks of pine trees . The same applies to Micaria albovittata and the Silesian Schiller Spider ( M. silesiaca ), in which the puncture on the opisthosoma is, however, significantly less or not present at all. In addition, the Silesian Schillerspider mostly inhabits dry heaths and sandy habitats , M. albovittata prefers grasslands on cliffs . The Arktoalpine Schiller Spider ( M. alpina ), which inhabits moss and grasslands in mountainous regions at altitudes from 750 meters above sea level, can be distinguished from the common Schiller spider by the less or nonexistent crossbeams. A species that is remotely similar to the common shimmering spider is the great shimmering spider ( M. formicaria ), which, however, becomes significantly larger and has red, shimmering hairs on the carapace. In addition, the drawing on the Opisthosoma of the Great Schiller Spider is composed only of the cross bands that are also present in the other Schiller spiders.

Occurrence

Females in Latvia

The distribution area of ​​the common iris spider includes the United States , Canada , Europe , Georgia , Russia , (European to Far Eastern part), Kazakhstan , China , Japan and possibly Turkey and Central Asia . In Europe, the species can be found across the board and only not found in Spitzbergen , Franz-Josef-Land , Nowaja Zemlya , the Republic of Moldova , Bosnia and Herzegovina , the Balearic Islands and Sicily .

The common iris spider is also widespread in Central Europe . The same applies to the British Isles .

Habitats

Open and sunny habitats such as B. the Westruper Heide near Haltern am See ( Recklinghausen district in North Rhine-Westphalia ) are preferred by the common Schiller spider.

The common iris spider inhabits a wide range of habitats , but prefers sunny and warm habitats. These include sandy heaths , chalk areas , dunes with peat moss (Sphagnum), abandoned areas, but also salt marshes and layers of moss in deciduous forests . In addition, the species also inhabits dry grasslands , forest clearings , meadows , wasteland , roadsides , settlement areas and wetlands, and occasionally fallow land .

The common iris spider can be found up to a height of 4,000 meters above sea ​​level , but this has so far only been proven in North America . In Europe , the species can be found in the Alps up to an altitude of 2,200 meters above sea level. In addition, the common iris spider can be found in the British Isles up to a height of 700 meters above sea level.

Danger

Due to its large distribution area and its ability to adapt , the common schiller spider is not threatened and is also the most common species of schiller spider ( Micaria ) in Europe, although this can also apply to the streifbone schiller spider ( M. micans ).

In the Red List of Endangered Animals, Plants and Fungi in Germany and the Red List and Total Species List of Spiders in Germany (2016), for example, the common shimmering spider is rated as "harmless" because the species is also very common in Germany and its population developments are both long-term and are constant even in the short term.

Way of life

Wandering male during the day

Like all flat-bellied spiders (Gnaphosidae) including the common shimmering spider (genus Micaria ), the common diurnal spider belongs to the diurnal members of the family. The species spends the night in flat-bellied spiders .

The common shimmering spider shares its rapid and jerky locomotion with these, which, in both species and other of the genus, is reminiscent of ants due to their optical appearance. This similarity is reinforced by trembling movements of the forelegs, which resemble the antennae movements of ants. This form of mimicry is probably used to deter predators (predators), as ants are avoided by many predators due to their ability to defend themselves. The common shimmering spider has been found in the company of wood ants ( Formica ), garden ants ( Lasius ) and ants of the genus Tetramorium . The spider can also be found in the ants' nests.

Hunting behavior and catch of prey

Like all flat-bellied spiders (Gnaphosidae), the common shimmering spider is an active hunter who does not create a spider web for catching purposes. It is, unlike other ants-imitating spiders or some flat-bellied spiders, e.g. As the Common ants thief ( Callilepis nocturnal ) but not specializing in ants, but like all Schiller spiders ( Micaria ) an opportunistic hunters. Ants are apparently even spurned by this spider.

The hunting behavior as such corresponds to that of other flat-bellied spiders: prey animals are perceived by the trichobothria (whiskers) and the perception of vibrations. Smaller prey animals are simply jumped at by the spider and put out of action with a poisonous bite administered by means of the chelicerae , while larger prey animals are prevented from escaping and defending themselves with a spider thread attached to them and to the ground . The spider attaches a spider thread to the prey and to the ground as it picks up and then circles it while at the same time producing more spider threads. Once this has happened, the spider gives the prey a poison bite and then consumes it.

Life cycle and phenology

The common shimmering spider, like many spiders living in temperate climates, has a life cycle that is divided over the seasons and divided into several sections. The activity time of adult individuals of the common iris spider extends almost the whole year, only in the females an absence can be noted in January. However, both sexes are most active from early February to late November.

As with many flat-bellied spiders (Gnaphosidae), nothing is known about the mating behavior of the common shimmering spider. Some time after mating, the female makes a solid egg cocoon , the shape of which is reminiscent of a flanged pot. Like other flat-bellied spiders, the common shimmering spider guards its egg cocoon. In contrast to other members of this family, however, it does not remain permanently in its immediate vicinity, but occasionally moves away from the egg cocoon, but returns to it in large numbers until the young animals hatch in order to check them. The young animals then grow up on their own after hatching.

Systematics

Extract from A History of the Spiders of Great Britain and Ireland. by John Blackwall (1861) showing a male of the common iris spider (referred to here as Drassus micans ) and a single pedipalp from it.

Classical systematics in the field of biology deals with the taxonomic (systematic) classification as well as with the determination and with the nomenclature (discipline of scientific naming) of living beings.

The species name pulicaria is derived from the Latin word pulicarius (translated "fluffy").

Description history and controversial family affiliation

When it was first described in 1831 by Karl Jakob Sundevall, the common schiller spider was described as Clubiona pulicaria and thus incorporated into the genus of the actual sack spiders within the family of sack spiders (Clubionidae), which is closely related to the flat-bellied spiders (Gnaphosidae) . The current name Micaria pulicaria was first demonstrably used by Niklas Westring in 1851 and has been used almost consistently since 1980.

The genus of the black spider, including the common black spider, has been changed over to other families several times, including for a long time that of the sack spiders due to their conical spinnerets. In recent times, however, the genus has increasingly been assigned to the family of flat-bellied spiders.

Internal system

The cladistic position of the species of the shimmering spider ( Micaria ) and also the closer relationship to the common shimmering spider has not been fully clarified to this day. In 2017, Rainer Breitling carried out a DNA analysis of 144 specimens from 12 species of the genus, and these could be combined into three species groups. One of them is that of the species group of the bark schiller spider ( M. subopaca ), which includes the arch schiller spider ( M. aenea ), the arctic alpine schiller spider ( M. alpica ) and the North American species Micaria longipes . The second element group is of Micaria rossica to which otherwise the Grazile Schiller spider ( dives M. ) and Micaria foxi belong. The third group of species is that of the common iris spider , which apart from this includes the species Micaria constricta , Micaria elizabethae , Micaria gertschi and Micaria tripunctata .

In 1980, Jörg Wunderlich also included the red schiller spider ( M. fulgens ) in the species group of the common schiller spider, but this was revised by Breitling in 2016. The species most closely related to the common shimmer spider and thus its sister species is M. tripunctata according to Breitling . The following cladogram illustrates the position of the individual species of the species group of the common shimmering spider, as designed by Breitling, as well as their position in relation to the other groups described above:

  Schiller spiders ( Micaria ) 



  Species group of the common iris spider 



 Common iris spider


   

 M. tripunctata



   

 M. elizabethae



   

 M. constricta


   

 M. gertschi





   

 Species group of the bark shimmer spider ( M. subopaca )



   

 M. rossica species group




Differentiated from the Streifbein-Schillerspider and other species of the genus

In 2020 the Streifbein-Schillerspinne ( M. micans ), which was previously recognized as a synonym of the common Schiller spider , received its species status back under Christoph Muster and Peter Michalik , which was done on the basis of molecular and morphological analyzes of specimens of both species. According to the same authors, the common iris spider could be divided into seven species, if only molecular investigations were to be carried out, of which only two could be distinguished morphologically with certainty.

In the past, in particular, an exact differentiation between the two species proved to be difficult due to the lack of possibilities, so that incorrect analyzes resulted, although different authors differentiate the common and the Strepbone iris spider on the basis of properties such as the characteristics, the phenologies, the preferred habitats and the life cycles of both Ways to perform. Franz Anton Quantity stated 1872/73 as sunny areas as habitats for the streifbein shiller spider and the feet of pine trunks as the habitat for the common shiller spider . In 2020 it actually turned out that the Streifbein-Schillerspider only inhabits xerothermophile (dry, warm habitats) and the common Schillerspider lives in more humid habitats, such as forests , in addition to dry habitats . Only the latter species occurs above the forest and tree line . The occurrence of both species is therefore dependent on the habitats.

Although a coexistence of the streifin spider and the common iris spider was proven in some areas as early as the 19th century, no reliable identification key was established for both species at that time. Instead, some authors did not address the diagnostic problems of the species at all or differentiated them on the basis of characteristics that, in retrospect, turned out to be insufficiently precise. In 1866, Carl Ludwig Koch named the thorn on the legs as a way of differentiating the two species, while in 1873 Quantity mentioned the properties of the tarsal claws, the iridescent setae and the morphology of the spinnerets as a way of distinguishing between the strachial and common iris spider. In 1902, Friedrich Wilhelm Bösenberg first indicated the color differences in the femora of the third and fourth pair of legs of both species as a reliable distinguishing feature.

Research history of the common iris spider in North America

The oldest available evidence of the common rag spider in North America is based on finds of the species Micaria montana , first described by James Henry Emerton in 1890 and synonymous with the common rag spider in 1980 under Norman I. Platnick and Mohammad Umar Shadab , which was then located on Mount Washington in the US state of New Hampshire has been discovered. Specimens that can be clearly assigned to the common iris spider were found by Muster and Michalik in North America only in the US states of Alberta and British Columbia near the Pacific coast , while populations in other areas of North America also with the locations of the holotypes (specimens used for the first description) from 1896 the species M. gentilis and M. perfecta, which were first described by Nathan Banks and also synonymous with the common shimmering spider by Platnick and Shadab . However, none of the populations showed any significant differences in terms of their morphological characteristics, so that the three synonymized species did not regain any species status.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Micaria pulicaria at araneae - Spiders of Europe, accessed on July 16, 2020.
  2. ^ Michael John Roberts: The Spiders of Great Britain and Ireland (=  The Spiders of Great Britain and Ireland . Volume 2 ). Brill Archive, 1985, ISBN 978-90-04-07658-7 , pp. 78 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Lawrence Bee, Geoff Oxford, Helen Smith: Britain's Spiders: A Field Guide - Fully Revised and Updated Second Edition (=  WILDGuides of Britain & Europe ). Princeton University Press, 2020, ISBN 978-0-691-21180-0 , pp. 333 .
  4. ↑ Jörg Wunderlich: Revision of the European species of the genus Micaria Westring 1851, with comments on the other Palearctic species (Arachnida: Araneida: Gnaphosidae) . In: Zoological contributions . tape 25 , no. 1 , 1978, p. 250 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Micaria pulicaria at the Wiki der Arachnologische Gesellschaft e. V., accessed on July 16, 2020.
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Heiko Bellmann: The cosmos spider leader . Kosmos, 2016, ISBN 978-3-440-15521-9 , pp. 252 .
  7. ↑ a b c Christoph Muster, Peter Michalik: Cryptic diversity in ant ‐ mimic Micaria spiders (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) and a tribute to early naturalists . In: Zoologica Scripta . tape 49 , no. 2 , 2020, p. 5 , doi : 10.1111 / zsc.12404 . , accessed on March 22, 2021.
  8. ↑ a b Christoph Muster, Peter Michalik: Cryptic diversity in ant ‐ mimic Micaria spiders (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) and a tribute to early naturalists . In: Zoologica Scripta . tape 49 , no. 2 , 2020, p. 4-5 , doi : 10.1111 / zsc.12404 . , accessed on March 22, 2021.
  9. ↑ The Micaria pulicaria species group at the Wiki of the Arachnologische Gesellschaft e. V., accessed on July 16, 2020.
  10. ↑ a b c d e f g Micaria pulicaria at the British Arachnological Society, accessed July 16, 2020.
  11. ↑ Christoph Muster, Peter Michalik: Cryptic diversity in ant ‐ mimic Micaria spiders (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) and a tribute to early naturalists . In: Zoologica Scripta . tape 49 , no. 2 , 2020, p. 7 , doi : 10.1111 / zsc.12404 . , accessed on March 22, 2021.
  12. ↑ Micaria pulicaria at the Red List Center, accessed on July 16, 2020.
  13. ↑ Christian O. Dietrich, Thilo Busch: Arboricaria sociabilis (KULCZYNSKI, 1897) (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) new for Austria: A specialized, myrmecoid predator of Liometopum microcephalum (PANZER, 1798) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)? In: Wissenschaftliche Mitteilungen Niederösterreichisches Landesmuseum . tape 16 , no. 1 , 2004, p. 43 . , accessed on March 22, 2020.
  14. ↑ Gnaphosidae in the Wiki of the Arachnological Society e. V., accessed on January 20, 2021.
  15. ↑ Micaria pulicaria in the WSC World Spider Catalog , accessed July 16, 2020.
  16. ↑ a b c Rainer Breitling: Public DNA barcoding data resolve the status of the genus Arboricaria (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) . In: Arachnological Messages . tape 54 , no. 54 , July 14, 2017, p. 25 , doi : 10.5431 / aramit5405 . , accessed February 1, 2021.
  17. ^ Rainer Breitling: Public DNA barcoding data resolve the status of the genus Arboricaria (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) . In: Arachnological Messages . tape 54 , no. 54 , July 14, 2017, p. 26 , doi : 10.5431 / aramit5405 . , accessed February 1, 2021.
  18. ↑ Christoph Muster, Peter Michalik: Cryptic diversity in ant ‐ mimic Micaria spiders (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) and a tribute to early naturalists . In: Zoologica Scripta . tape 49 , no. 2 , 2020, p. 7-8 , doi : 10.1111 / zsc.12404 . , accessed on March 22, 2021.
  19. ↑ a b Christoph Muster, Peter Michalik: Cryptic diversity in ant ‐ mimic Micaria spiders (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) and a tribute to early naturalists . In: Zoologica Scripta . tape 49 , no. 2 , 2020, p. 10 , doi : 10.1111 / zsc.12404 . , accessed on March 23, 2021.
  20. ↑ Christoph Muster, Peter Michalik: Cryptic diversity in ant ‐ mimic Micaria spiders (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) and a tribute to early naturalists . In: Zoologica Scripta . tape 49 , no. 2 , 2020, p. 9-10 , doi : 10.1111 / zsc.12404 . , accessed on March 22, 2021.

literature

Web links

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This article was added to the list of excellent articles in this version on March 28, 2021 .