Striped tarantula

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Striped tarantula
Striped tarantula (Alopecosa striatipes), female with an egg cocoon in its living tube

Striped tarantula ( Alopecosa striatipes ), female with an egg cocoon in its living tube

Systematics
Class : Arachnids (arachnida)
Order : Spiders (Araneae)
Subordination : Real spiders (Araneomorphae)
Family : Wolf spiders (Lycosidae)
Genre : Alopecosa
Type : Striped tarantula
Scientific name
Alopecosa striatipes
( CL Koch , 1839)

The striped pseudo-tarantula ( Alopecosa striatipes ), also known as the striated-legged tarantula or striped- legged panther spider , is a spider from the family of wolf spiders (Lycosidae). The trivial names as well as the scientific species name of the species predominantly found in Europe come from the color of the legs.

features

With a body length of 13 to 15 millimeters as females and 11 to 13 millimeters as males, the striped pseudo-tarantula is one of the larger species of the genus Alopecosa and also one of the larger wolf spiders in Central Europe . The prosoma (front body) has a brown basic color and is provided with a broad and light gray or brownish colored band that widens strongly in the front area and extends to the side edges in the area of ​​the eyes. At the back, the band is closed by two wide, black bands that are pointed towards the front, which in turn are divided into three sections by two contrasting radial stripes, whereby the radial stripes can also be missing.

The legs have white stripes running laterally on both sides, which can be seen particularly well on the front of the first pair of legs. These stripes played a role in both the scientific and the German-language naming. Ventrally the legs are black, dorsally they are yellowish. The male's bulbi (sexual organs ), located on the pedipalps (transformed extremities in the head area in arachnids) , have a tile-like apophysis (extension of the chitinous skeleton ) with straight and parallel edges.

The opisthosoma is dark brown in color and black like the legs on the ventral side. The heart mark typical for the genus also occurs in the striped pseudo-tarantula, but here it is only recognizable in the female and is indistinctly differentiated from the rest of the coloration. There are dark angular spots behind the heart mark. The male has a light gray longitudinal ligament instead of a heart mark. The female's spermathec (sexual organ) is divided into two touching, pocket-like depressions at the front. The rear half of the spermathec is twice as wide as the front and appears plate-like.

Similar species

A species similar to the striped pseudo- tarantula is the species Alopecosa mariae , which is also part of the genus Alopecosa and occurs in southeastern Europe. The radial stripes are missing throughout. A reliable distinction between the two species can only be made by examining the genital morphological characteristics of both species. Due to the different distributions, a meeting of both species is unlikely anyway.

Occurrence

The striped pseudo-tarantula occurs in large parts of Central and Eastern Europe as well as in some regions of Southeast Europe . In addition, the species is also widespread in Turkey and the Caucasus . In these areas, the striped pseudo-tarantula lives in warm and dry places with weak vegetation, especially stony dry grasslands . However, it can also be found in damp and sunny forest edges in flat areas. In Germany, the striped pseudo-tarantula is mainly found in the Swabian and Franconian Alb and in the northern part of the Hessian mountainous region .

Threat and protection

Like many other species of the genus, the striped pseudo-tarantula is threatened by the decline in its habitats. The populations of the species are strongly declining and in the Red List of Endangered Species of Animals, Plants and Fungi in Germany it is classified in category 2 ("endangered"). The global population of the striped tarantula, however, is not evaluated by the IUCN .

Way of life

Like many wolf spiders, the striped pseudo-tarantula is primarily nocturnal and hides under stones during the day. Like almost all wolf spiders, the striped pseudo-tarantula does not make a spider web for the purpose of catching prey, but hunts suitable prey animals free running. The activity of the species also depends on the humidity; the drier the humidity in their habitat, the more active the spider is.

Reproduction and Phenology

The mating season of the striped tarantula begins in spring and you can then watch the males looking for females during the day. Only after mating does the female of the species build a living tube typical of the genus Alopecosa , which in the striped pseudo-tarantula is comparatively deep and thick as a finger. The tube bends in a kink at a depth of about five centimeters. The spider usually lingers at this point. The entrance mouth of the living tube is covered with a fine and white web and is thus reminiscent of the living tubes of the Apulian tarantula ( Lycosa tarentula ). It is noteworthy that the living tube is provided with a lid, similar to trapdoor spiders , which consists of crumbs of earth, small stones and plant remains. In contrast to the living tubes of the trapdoor spiders, the lid of the living tube of the Striped Tarantula does not serve as a camouflage method for catching prey. Rather, the lid has a similar purpose and is used to camouflage the hiding place and can also be opened and closed as required.

The now pregnant female is mainly in the living tube. There it produces its egg cocoon and remains with it in the tube. Occasionally the cocoon is held up to the sun. As usual, after hatching, the young climb onto the mother's back and let her carry them, sitting with the frontal side turned inwards and close to one another. From this point on, the spider, together with its offspring, can be found again outside the tube. After a while, the young animals leave their mother and grow through several moults. The last one probably takes place before the onset of the cold season, which means that the spiders could overwinter in the adult state. Adult specimens of the Striped Tarantula can be found from March to June.

Systematics

Like most of the spider species described in the first half of the 19th century, the striped pseudo-tarantula was renamed several times and transferred into different genera. The species originally received the name Lycosa striatipes from its first describer Carl Ludwig Koch in 1839 . In 1955, Carl Friedrich Roewer changed the scientific name to the current one.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Heiko Bellmann: Der Kosmos Spinnenführer. Over 400 species in Europe. 2nd Edition. Kosmos Naturführer, Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos), 2016, ISBN 978-3-440-14895-2 , p. 174.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Alopecosa striatipes (CL Koch, 1839) from araneae Spiders of Europe, by Wolfgang Nentwig, Theo Blick, Robert Bosmans, Daniel Gloor, Ambros Hänggi & Christian Kropf , accessed on February 8, 2020.
  3. ^ Alopecosa striatipes (CL Koch, 1839) at the Red List Center , accessed on February 8, 2020.
  4. ^ Alopecosa striatipes (CL Koch, 1839) from Global Biodiversity Information Facility , accessed on February 8, 2020.
  5. ↑ I. Hofmann & J. Haupt: Spatial and temporal distribution of .five syntopic species of the genus Alopecosa (Araneae, Lycosidae) and some remarks on their ecology , Institute for Biology, Technische Universität Berlin, accessed on February 8, 2020.
  6. ^ Alopecosa striatipes (CL Koch, 1839) in the WSC World Spider Catalog , accessed February 8, 2020.

literature

Web links

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