Slender curly spiders

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Slender curly spiders
Fecenia protensa

Fecenia protensa

Systematics
Class : Arachnids (arachnida)
Order : Spiders (Araneae)
Subordination : Real spiders (Araneomorphae)
Partial order : Entelegynae
Superfamily : Lycosoidea
Family : Slender curly spiders
Scientific name
Psechridae
Simon , 1890

The slender-curled spiders (Psechridae) are a family of web -building spiders from the large group of wolf - spider relatives (Lycosoidea) and comprise 61 species in two genera . (As of March 2016)

features

Little is known about the exact shape of the cribellate slender spiders, since there is a lack of evidence in the comparatively little researched family and since the type specimens were often sexually immature young animals. The coloration is usually not very contrasty and of little variation. In addition to the brownish or yellowish basic color, the spiders have, depending on the genus, a light, very thin median line on the opisthosoma ( Fecenia ) or two adjacent, parallel, elongated and light spots. They have very elongated legs, the last limb of which is flexible (sham joints). On their tarsi, besides the claws, there are pronounced tufts of hair, which, however, probably do not take on the function of the setae of the two-clawed spiders , but rather support the claws when weaving the web, as in the orb-web spiders and are ideally suited for life in the web .

Occurrence

Distribution map of the Psechridae

All species of the slender-curled spider can be found in the rainforests of Southeast Asia and live there under cover. The genus Fecenia is cave dwellers, while the representatives of the genus Psechrus can be found near the ground between tree roots, rocks, rocks lying around or below sandy overhangs. Both genera avoid open habitats.

Way of life

In contrast to most of the other members of the superfamily Lycosoidea , the slender-curled spiders are not free-roaming hunters, but rather make nets for fishing purposes. The spiders weave impressive horizontal ceiling nets, on the underside of which they move with their backs down. The nets are usually made at night. Flying insects, but also running arthropods that fall onto the net cover, come into question as prey. Due to the extremely effective catching threads made with the cribellum, the prey animals can also turn out to be significantly larger than the spider itself.

Reproduction

The reproductive behavior of slender curly spiders has also been little researched. Presumably, males willing to mate seek the nets of sexually mature females using pheromones, whose nets are provided with such. If such a net was found by a male, it begins to signal to the female by plucking the net that it is a sexual partner. Before copulation, there is a foreplay in which the male gently strokes the female's legs. In the case of the genus Fecenia , this prelude is preceded by a genus-specific knock on the part of the male on the female's shelter (usually a rolled-up leaf). The copulation takes place here at night in the mouth of the shelter, then both partners sit together in the shelter for a long time before they separate. The mating process is much simpler with the genus Psechrus ; here, too, it takes place at night. However, the mating takes place below the tissue cover of the net from the female and lasts only a few seconds. It is noticeable that subadult females who only need a molt to reach sexual maturity have a pre-vulva or pre-egipyne in the form of a not yet fully developed structure on which the sexual organs of the adult animal are located.

Systematics

The World Spider Catalog currently lists 2 genera and 61 species for the Psechridae. (As of March 2016)

Web links

Commons : Curly Spiders  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Slender curly spiders in the World Spider Catalog

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Natural History Museum of the Burgergemeinde Bern: World Spider Catalog Version 17.0 - Psechridae . Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  2. ↑ a b c d Report on the slim curly spiders on the website of the Natural History Museum Karlsruhe ( Link )