Gnaphosidae

Eilica sp., copyright Irene Richardson.


Belongs within: Gnaphosoidea.
Contains: Haplodrassus, Drassodes, Zelotes, Gnaphosa.

The Gnaphosidae, flat-bellied ground spiders, are a diverse group of mostly ground-running spiders that are characterised by the presence of enlarged spigots on the lateral spinnerets. They produce egg sacs that are usually papery and attached to a firm surface (Jocqué & Dippenaar-Schoeman 2007). Among the major subgroups of the Gnaphosidae, Hemicloea species are very flat, thin spiders with a sclerotised ring on the posterior lateral spinnerets. Members of the genus Herpyllus possess male palps with a basally broadened embolus and elongate median apophysis, and internal female genitalia consisting of two elongate tubular spermathecae with basal lobes. The similar genus Scotophaeus has a hooklike median apophysis on the male palp and terminal bulbs on the spermathecae in the female. Species of Eilica have anteriorly produced chelicerae possessing two or three translucent laminae on the retromargin, and often have a pattern of light and dark areas on the abdomen. Trachyzelotes is a genus found primarily around the Mediterranean characterised by a cluster of stiff setae on the anteromedian face of the chelicerae.

See also: The zealot spiders.

Characters (from Jocqué & Dippenaar-Schoeman 2007): Small to medium-sized; eight eyes present, with posterior median eyes flattened; endites obliquely depressed; legs with two tarsal claws; ecribellate; anterior spinnerets parallel, large, cylindrical and usually well separated, without distal ring; their piriform gland spigots greatly enlarged, with flattened base and shaft, and slit-like opening; entelegyne.

<==Gnaphosidae [Drassidae]
    |--Camillina calel R14
    `--+--+--Apodrassodes quilpuensis R14
       |  `--Gnaphosa R14
       `--Eilica R14
            |--E. amambay R14
            |--E. modesta Keyserling 1891 FM11
            |--E. rufithorax (Simon 1893) FM11
            `--E. trilineata R14

Gnaphosidae incertae sedis:
  Trachyzelotes Lohmander 1944 ZO11
    |--T. jaxartensis (Kroneberg 1875) PO08
    `--T. pedestris (Koch 1837) BBM02
  Nauhea Forster 1979 PVD10
    `--*N. tapa Forster 1979 PVD10
  Hypodrassodes de Dalmas 1919 PVD10
    |--*H. maoricus (de Dalmas 1917) PVD10
    |--H. apicus Forster 1979 PVD10
    |--H. courti Forster 1979 PVD10
    |--H. crassus Forster 1979 PVD10
    |--H. dalmasi Forster 1979 PVD10
    |--H. insulanus Forster 1979 PVD10
    `--H. isopus Forster 1979 PVD10
  Scotophaeus Simon 1893 PVD10
    |--S. bersebaensis Strand 1915 J98
    |--S. blackwalli (Thorell 1871) PVD10 [=Drassus blackwalli V09]
    |--S. lamperti Strand 1906 J98
    |--S. pretiosus (Koch 1873) PVD10
    `--S. validus (Lucas 1846) K55
  Notiodrassus Bryant 1935 PVD10
    |--*N. distinctus Bryant 1935 PVD10
    `--N. fiordensis Forster 1979 PVD10
  Rebilus [Rebileae] B96
  Pterotricha Kulczyński 1903 MG03
    |--P. conspersa (Pickard-Cambridge 1872) PO08
    `--P. lesserti Dalmas 1921 MG03
  Anzacia de Dalmas 1919 PVD10
    |--A. gemmea (Dalmas 1919) ZO11
    `--A. pretiosa M83
  Drassyllus Chamberlin 1922 ZO11
    |--D. crimeaensis Kovblyuk 2003 K03
    |--D. lutetianus RKD02
    |--D. praeficus (Koch 1866) [=Zelotes praeficus] K03
    |--D. pumilus (Koch 1839) K03
    |--D. pusillus (Koch 1833) [=Zelotes pusillus] K03
    `--D. villicus (Thorell 1875) K03
  Haplodrassus D90
  Nomisia K55
    |--N. aussereri (Koch 1872) K55
    `--N. exornata (Koch 1839) K55
  Orodrassus canadensis Platnick & Shadab 1975 PS08
  Odontodrassus mundulus (Pickard-Cambridge 1872) PO08
  Talanites PO08
  Minosia spinosissima (Simon 1878) JD-S07, PO08
  Callilepis W77
    |--C. concolor Simon 1914 W77
    |--C. cretica (Roewer 1928) [=Minosia cretica, Crosbyellum creticum; incl. C. wiehlei Bristowe 1935] W77
    `--C. nocturna K01
  Apopyllus silvestrii (Simon 1905) L-M-HM11, FM11
  Zimiromus L-M-HM11
  Intruda Forster 1979 PVD10
    `--*I. signata (Hogg 1900) PVD10
  Zelanda Özdikmen 2009 [=Taieria Forster 1979 (preoc.)] PVD10
    |--*Z. erebus (Koch 1873) PVD10
    |--Z. elongata (Forster 1979) PVD10
    |--Z. kaituna (Forster 1979) PVD10
    |--Z. miranda (Forster 1979) PVD10
    |--Z. obtusa (Forster 1979) PVD10
    `--Z. titirangia (Ovtsharenko, Fedoryak & Zakharov 2006) PVD10
  Megamyrmaekion Reuss 1834 ZO11
  Afratheuma Kishida 1932 [Afratheumeae] TYM08
  Cesonia D90
  Sergiolus D90
  Setaphis arcus JD-S07
  Xerophaeus JD-S07
  Kaitawa Forster 1979 PVD10
    `--*K. insulare (Marples 1956) PVD10
  Matua Forster 1979 PVD10
    |--*M. valida Forster 1979 PVD10
    `--M. festiva Forster 1979 PVD10
  Pythonissa cinerea K01
  Prosthesima K01
    |--P. barbata K01
    |--P. foveolata K01
    `--P. iaxartensis K01
  Eomactator mactatus Petrunkevitch 1958 S93
  Captrix lineata Koch & Berendt 1854 S93
  Echemus Simon 1878 ZO11 [Echeminae JD-S07]
  Herpyllus E95 [Herpylleae, Herpyllinae JD-S07]
    `--H. blackwalli E95
  Hemicloea Thorell 1870 PVD10 [Hemicloeae, Hemicloeinae JD-S07]
    |--H. rogenhoferi Koch 1875 PVD10 (see below for synonymy)
    `--H. sundevallii Thorell 1870 PVD10
  Drassodes ZO11
  Zelotes ZO11
  Idmonia P92
  Melanophora P92
    |--M. flavens S99
    |--M. pacifica Simon 1899 S99
    `--M. rustica S99
  Spheconia P92
  Drassyllinus P92

Hemicloea rogenhoferi Koch 1875 PVD10 [incl. H. alacris de Dalmas 1917 FF99, H. celerrima de Dalmas 1917 FF99]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

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[FF99] Forster, R., & L. Forster. 1999. Spiders of New Zealand and their World-wide Kin. University of Otago Press: Dunedin (New Zealand).

[FM11] Freire-Jr, G. de B., & P. C. Motta. 2011. Effects of experimental fire regimes on the abundance and diversity of cursorial arachnids of Brazilian savannah (cerrado biome). Journal of Arachnology 39 (2): 263–272.

[J98] Jäger, P. 1998. Das Typenmaterial der Spinnentiere (Arachnida: Acari, Amblypygi, Araneae, Opiliones, Pseudoscorpiones, Scorpiones, Uropygi) aus dem Museum Wiesbaden. Jahrbuecher des Nassauischen Vereins fuer Naturkunde 119: 81–91.

[JD-S07] Jocqué, R., & A. S. Dippenaar-Schoeman. 2007. Spider Families of the World. Royal Museum for Central Africa: Tervuren (Belgium).

[K03] Kovblyuk, N. M. 2003. The spider genus Drassyllus Chamberlin, 1922 in the Crimean fauna, with description of a new species (Aranei: Gnaphosidae). Arthropoda Selecta 12 (1): 23–28.

[K55] Kraus, O. 1955. Spinnen von Korsika, Sardinien und Elba (Arach., Araneae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 36: 371–394.

[K01] Kulczyński, V. 1901. Arachnoideák [Arachnoidea]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 311–369. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[L-M-HM11] Lo-Man-Hung, N. F., R. Marichal, D. F. Candiani, L. S. Carvalho, R. P. Indicatti, A. B. Bonaldo, D. H. R. Cobo, A. Feijoo M., S. Tselouiko, C. Praxedes, G. Brown, E. Velasquez, T. Decaëns, J. Oszwald, M. Martins & P. Lavelle. 2011. Impact of different land management on soil spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) in two Amazonian areas of Brazil and Colombia. Journal of Arachnology 39 (2): 296–302.

[M83] Martin, N. A. 1983. Miscellaneous observations on a pasture fauna: an annotated species list. DSIR Entomology Division Report 3: 1–98.

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[PVD10] Paquin, P., C. J. Vink & N. Dupérré. 2010. Spiders of New Zealand: annotated family key and species list. Manaaki Whenua Press: Lincoln (New Zealand).

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[P92] Poinar, G. O., Jr. 1992. Life in Amber. Stanford University Press: Stanford.

[R14] Ramírez, M. J. 2014. The morphology and phylogeny of dionychan spiders (Araneae: Araneomorphae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 390: 1–374.

[RKD02] Relys, V., S. Koponen & D. Dapkus. 2002. Annual differences and species turnover in peat bog spider communities. Journal of Arachnology 30 (2): 416–424.

[S93] Selden, P. A. 1993. Arthropoda (Aglaspidida, Pycnogonida and Chelicerata). In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 297–320. Chapman & Hall: London.

[S99] Simon, E. 1899. Ergebnisse einer Reise nach dem Pacific (Schauinsland 1896–1897. Zoologische Jahrbücher, Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie un Biologie der Thiere 12 (4): 411–437.

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[W77] Wunderlich, J. 1977. Zur Synonymie südeuropäischer Spinnen (Arachnida: Araneida: Theridiidae, Linyphiidae, Gnaphosidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 57 (4–6): 289–293.

[ZO11] Zakharov, B. P., & V. I. Ovtcharenko. 2011. Morphological organization of the male palpal organ in Australian ground spiders of the genera Anzacia, Intruda, Zelanda, and Encoptarthria (Araneae: Gnaphosidae). Journal of Arachnology 39 (2): 327–336.

Last updated: 17 January 2022.