Dune tarantula
| Dune tarantula | ||||||||||||
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Dune tarantula ( Alopecosa fabrilis ), female in front of the living tube |
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| Alopecosa fabrilis | ||||||||||||
| ( Clerck , 1757) |
The dune tarantula ( Alopecosa fabrilis ) is a spider from the family of wolf spiders (Lycosidae). It occurs all over Europe.
Appearance and build
The dune tarantula is one of the larger species in the genus. The females grow up to 16 millimeters, the males up to 12 millimeters.
The basic color is brownish gray. On the prosoma there is a thin, light central stripe that does not reach the edge of the prosoma either in the eye area or towards the opisthosoma . Next to it run weaker colored longitudinal bands. The prosoma border is also brightly colored. Indistinct radial stripes run from the middle of the prosoma to the edge of the prosoma.
The opisthosoma has the jagged pike mark typical of the genus Alopecosa . It is usually bordered wider in the front area, and bright spots can be seen on the prongs that continue further back.
The legs are indistinctly patterned on the limbs close to the body and uniformly colored on the limbs distant from the body.
The front eyes are comparatively large. Four secondary eyes are found in a horizontal line between the front eyes and the chelicerae . The posterior eyes are in the anterior quarter of the prosoma behind the anterior eyes.
Similar species
Alopecosa striatipes and Alopecosa schmidti are very similar species to the dune tarantula. A. striatipes has clear longitudinal stripes on the legs, and the radial stripes are also more pronounced. A. schmidti is a little bigger and is only common in eastern Germany and Europe.
The subspecies A. fabrilis trinacriae occurs only in Sicily.
Occurrence and way of life
The dune tarantula occurs exclusively in sandy areas, both on the coast and on inland dunes , and in sandy pine forests and heaths . The females dig a living tube several centimeters deep, which they line with spider silk. There they usually lurk at the entrance to let insects pass the tube, which then become the spider's prey. In the event of disturbances, the female withdraws into the tube, but usually reappears at the entrance a few minutes later. The males, on the other hand, often roam free in search of a female. Adult animals can be found from autumn to spring.
Danger
The dune tarantula is classified in the Red List of Germany in category 3 ("endangered"). Free sand areas in the interior are decreasing more and more, so that the species is less common in the south than on the coast.
Web links
- Alopecosa fabrilis in the World Spider Catalog
- Alopecosa fabrilis trinacriae in the World Spider Catalog
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Heiko Bellmann : Kosmos-Atlas arachnids of Europe. Kosmos-Verlag, ISBN 3-440-09071-X .
- ↑ Natural History Museum of the Burgergemeinde Bern: World Spider Catalog Version 15.5 - Alopecosa fabrilis trinacriae . Retrieved September 7, 2014.
- ^ Atlas of the arachnids of Europe