Green lynx spider
| Green lynx spider | ||||||||||||
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Green lynx spider ( Peucetia viridans ), female on the lid of a yellow pitcher plant |
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| Peucetia viridans | ||||||||||||
| ( Hentz , 1832) |
The green lynx spider ( Peucetia viridans ) is a spider from the family of the lynx spiders (Oxyopidae). The species is not to be confused with the similar-sounding and distantly similar-looking green hoof spider , which belongs to the family of giant crab spiders .
features
The body length of the female of the green lynx spider can be 12 to 26 millimeters, that of the male seven to twelve millimeters. The leg span can be up to 70 millimeters in females and 65 millimeters in males. The name of the species is the light green basic color, whereby the Opisthosoma is slightly lighter in color. Prosoma and opisthosoma have red dots arranged in two dorsally running longitudinal rows as additional color patterns and the opisthosoma also have white angular spots, the number of which can vary depending on the individual. The body structure of the green lynx spider is identical to that of other lynx spiders. The opisthosoma has a tapered shape, whereas that of the male is significantly narrower. The highest elevation of the cephalothorax is in the area of the hexagonal eyes. There it tapers upwards and spreads further backwards. There are several white and short hairs in the area of the eyes. The long and thin legs of the species are pale green to yellow in color and have several long and black bristles and black spots, especially in the area of the femur . The green lynx spider shares the high performance of the eyes and the seta with other members of the family.
Similar species
Similar to the green lynx spider are several related species from the same genus, including Peucetia longipalpis and Peucetia viridana , with which the green lynx spider shares the same ranges and habitats.
Occurrence
The range of the green lynx spider forms the southern part of the United States on the coastal region, Mexico , Central America and the West Indies . Their habitats are open areas, including fields, prairies, thorn bush savannahs , as well as courtyards and gardens.
Way of life
As with many other lynx spiders, the green lynx spider is a diurnal and agile ambulance hunter who stays within its habitat in low vegetation, preferably in bushes and herbs. There the spider can move at considerable speed thanks to its long legs and can also reach new locations by jumping. Similar to jumping spiders, the green lynx spider uses a well-developed, forward-facing pair of eyes to target the jump and also tightens a safety thread. Before jumping, the spider takes a characteristic lurking position and remains motionless until a prey comes near it. Due to the coloring, the green lynx spider remains well camouflaged on plants. If a prey comes within range, the spider jumps at it and puts it out of action with a poisonous bite. The prey animals of the green lynx spider form mainly appropriately large arthropods , which often stay on flowers and parts of plants.
Reproduction
The green lynx spider usually forms one generation per year. The mating season takes place from July to August. 21 to 28 days after mating, the female begins to produce a round cocoon , flattened on one side and with several indentations , which contains 25 to 600 (usually 200) eggs. The cocoon, which is initially green in color and turns straw-colored over time, with a diameter of 15 to 25 millimeters is attached by the female to the underside of plants, preferably to the higher branches of wooden bushes within a hatching nest and guarded until the young spiders hatch. During hatching, the female opens the cocoon from the outside and thus helps the young spiders to leave the cocoon. In an emergency, the young of the green lynx spider can open the cocoon independently from the inside, unlike wolf spiders. In the southern and warmer regions of the range, the mated females also make two or more cocoons. The young animals that initially remain in the hatchery hibernate in the earlier stages and grow in the following spring. To do this, the males go through six to seven and the females seven to eight stages until they mature into an adult.
Defense and toxic effects
Bites on humans by the green lynx spider have been reported. For humans, however, the bite is harmless and usually causes swelling in the area of the bite. The low danger that this spider poses to humans is also related to its low level of aggressiveness.
The green lynx spider also has another method of defense that is peculiar to spiders: it is able to inject its venom up to a distance of 10 to 20 millimeters. The spider accomplishes this by facing a potential attacker, shifting its weight backwards, and then spreading the chelicerae and holding them towards the target. Then the spider shoots forward and at the same time squirts the poison. The poison is hardly noticed on human skin and is only described as cooling. However, the poison has a bitter odor and, if it hits the human eye, can cause irritation. In one such case, a soldier was noted to have temporary impaired vision.
Systematics
Nicholas Marcellus Hentz first described the green lynx spider as Sphasus viridans in 1832 . In 1838 she was given the name Clastes abboti by Charles Athanase Walckenaer . The synonyms Clastes viridis and Clastes roseus come from the same natural scientist . Hentz classified the spider in the genus Oxyopes in 1845 and named it Oxyopes viridans . Henry Christopher McCook changed the name of the species again to Peucetia aurora in 1883 , before it was given its current scientific name Peucetia viridans by James Henry Emerton in 1902 . Joseph Conrad Chamberlin and Wilton Ivie added the synonym Peucetia abboti .
gallery
Graphic of the body structure of the green lynx spider
Top view of a female
Frontal view of a female
Lateral view of a female
Bottom view of a female
Rear view of a female, well camouflaged in the vegetation
Detail of a female
Females on a flower
Females with still fresh and green cocoons with clearly visible bulges.
Females with hatched young animals
Top view of a male
Lateral view of a male
Frontal view of a male
Detail of a male
Males on a flower
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Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Description of the green lynx spider on bugguide.net ( Link )
- ↑ a b c d e f g Description of the green lynx spider on ungemdept.ifas.ufl.edu ( Link )
- ↑ Description of the effect of the injected poison of the green lynx spider on www.americanarachnology.org ( Link )
- ^ Nicholas Marcellus Hentz : (1832). On North American spiders. Silliman's Journal of Science and Arts, 21, pp. 99–122, 1832 (first description, English)
literature
- Nicholas Marcellus Hentz : (1832). On North American spiders. Silliman's Journal of Science and Arts, 21, pp. 99–122, 1832 (first description, English)
