Prickly panther spider
| Prickly panther spider | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spiny panther spider ( Alopecosa aculeata ), female |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Alopecosa aculeata | ||||||||||||
| ( Clerck , 1757) |
The spiny panther spider ( Alopecosa aculeata ), also known as the dark brown tarantula or Boreomontane pseudo- tarantula , is a spider from the family of wolf spiders (Lycosidae). The widespread species is endangered in many places in Germany.
features
Females of the prickly panther spider reach a body length of eight to eleven millimeters, males one of seven to nine millimeters. The color varies according to gender, but the prosoma is reddish in both sexes and the sternum is brown. The latter is rarely provided with a lighter middle part.
The female has a black-brown carapace . In its center there is a red and yellow median stripe running horizontally and on its flanks two further narrow stripes in the same color. The legs and pedipalps of the female are orange-brown in color. The spermathek of the prickly panther spider is protruding and has a parallel border on the middle part.
The male has a black-brown carapace with a white medial stripe and two other white stripes on the flanks. Its legs are brown with the metatarsi and tarsi appearing lighter. The two front pairs of legs are generally darker than the two rear ones. The pedipalps and bulbi are black-brown.
As with the other species of the pseudo-tarantulas ( Alopecosa ), the spiny panther spider also bears on its opisthosoma, which is red-brown in the female and dark-brown in the male, in the form of a heart mark typical of the genus, which in the dark-brown tarantula is also different depending on sex. In the female, which also has two rows of white dots on the opisthosoma, the heart mark is occasionally provided with white angular spots. In the male, the heart mark is integrated in the middle of a light brown longitudinal ligament that runs horizontally on the opisthosoma. In addition, there are two more and narrower light brown bands on the sides of the opisthosoma in the male.
Similar species
Together with the Dickfußpantherspinne ( Alopecosa cuneata ), the dark Panther spider ( Alopecosa pulverulenta ) and the central mountain-Scheintarantel ( Alopecosa taeniata ) the Spiny Spider Panther (forms Alopecosa aculeata ) a group of species.
In addition to this group of species, there are other members of the pseudo -tarantula genus similar to the prickly panther spider, an example would be the barbed tarantula ( A. trabalis ).
Occurrence
The large distribution area of the prickly panther spider includes North America , Europe , Turkey , the Caucasus , Russia (up to the Far Eastern part), Iran , Central Asia , China and Japan . As a moisture-loving species, it lives particularly in moss , wood and litter layers in moist and sunny forests. In mountainous regions, their occurrence extends to the tree line.
Threat and protection
Depending on the area, the prickly panther spider can be encountered frequently. The IUCN does not count the worldwide population . In Germany, where the species is found mainly in the south and east and its population is declining slightly, the prickly panther spider is rare and listed in the Red List of Endangered Animals, Plants and Fungi in Germany in Category 3 ("Endangered").
Way of life
Like the other species of the genus, the prickly panther spider digs an earth tube as a retreat. With this species, this is especially created under leaves or other vegetation elements. The hunting method of the prickly panther spider is similar to that of many other wolf spiders. She waits as a stalker or actively hunts and therefore does not use a safety net.
Reproduction
The courtship and reproductive behavior of the prickly panther spider is also similar to that of other species of the genus. Here, too, the female guards her egg cocoon in her living tube and carries the young spiders around with her on her opisthosoma for some time before they become independent. The phenology of the prickly panther spider covers the whole year, but females are preferred from April to November and males from April to late summer.
Systematics
Carl Alexander Clerck first described the spiny panther spider in 1757 as Araneus aculeatus . At that time all spiders were assigned to the genus Araneus . Finally, several renaming and positioning in different genres followed. The name Alopecosa aculeata , which is still valid today , was first given by Carl Friedrich Roewer in 1955 and has been used continuously since then.
gallery
Top view of a female
Lateral view of a female
Rear view of a female
Top view of a male
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Description of the prickly panther spider on the website of "ArachnoPhoto" , accessed on December 19, 2019.
- ↑ a b c d e f Alopecosa acuneata (Clerck, 1757) from araneae Spiders of Europe, by Wolfgang Nentwig, Theo Blick, Robert Bosmans, Daniel Gloor, Ambros Hänggi & Christian Kropf , accessed on December 19, 2019.
- ↑ Link description of the dark panther spider on the website of www.natur-in-nrw.de , accessed on December 19, 2019.
- ↑ a b Alopecosa acuneata (Clerck, 1757) in the WSC World Spider Catalog , accessed December 19, 2019.
- ^ A b Richard A. Bradley: Common Spiders of North America , 1st edition, 2019, p. 148, ISBN 9780520315310 .
- ↑ Alopecosa acuneata (Olivier, 1789) at Global Biodiversity Information Facility , accessed on 19 December of 2019.
- ↑ Detection map of the prickly panther spider in Germany on the website of "Atlas of Arachnids of Germany" , accessed on December 19, 2019.
- ↑ Threat status of the spiny panther spider on the website of the Red List of Threatened Species , accessed on December 19, 2019.
- ↑ a b Description of the prickly panther spider on the "BugGuide" website , accessed on December 19, 2019.
- ↑ Description of any wolf spine (prickly panther spider directly excluded) on the website of "The Spiders of Europe and Greenland" , accessed on December 19, 2019.
literature
- Richard A. Bradley: Common Spiders of North America , 1st Edition, 2019, p. 148, ISBN 9780520315310 .
Web links
- Alopecosa aculeata in the World Spider Catalog
- Description of the Spiny Panther Spider on the ArachnoPhoto website, accessed December 19, 2019.
- Alopecosa acuneata (Clerck, 1757) from araneae Spiders of Europe, from Wolfgang Nentwig, Theo Blick, Robert Bosmans, Daniel Gloor, Ambros Hänggi & Christian Kropf, accessed on 19 December 2019.
- Link description of the dark panther spider on the website of www.natur-in-nrw.de
- Alopecosa acuneata (Olivier, 1789) from Global Biodiversity Information Facility , accessed December 19, 2019.
- Detection map of the prickly panther spider in Germany on the website of "Atlas of Arachnids of Germany", accessed on December 19, 2019.
- Prickly Panther Spider Threat Status on the Red List of Threatened Species website , accessed December 19, 2019.
- Description of the prickly panther spider on the BugGuide website, accessed December 19, 2019.
- Description of any wolf spine (prickly panther spider directly excluded) on The Spiders of Europe and Greenland website, accessed December 19, 2019.