Salewski’s Goblin Spider
The genus Aposphragisma includes goblin spiders with six eyes, spineless legs and a strongly sclerotised body. The cephalothorax is completely armoured by a heavy carapace and hard sternum. The abdomen is also covered with large dorsal and ventral plates ("scuta"); the dorsal abdominal scutum is lid-like and extends over the entire dorsal surface.
The species A. salewskii, named after the German biologist Dr Volker Salewski, was described from two male specimens collected from Bukit Timah Nature Reserve in Singapore. It is recognised by the micro-sculptured pattern on the carapace and the sternum. and the many outward-pointing denticles around the margins of the carapace, and details of its copulatory organs.
All photos
| Length | ♀ 2 mm; ♂ 2 mm |
| Distribution | Singapore, Malaysia. |
| Habitat | Primary lowland hill forest. |
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)
Class Arachnida (Arachnids)
Order Araneae (Spiders)
Suborder Araneomorphae (Typical Spiders)
Aposphragisma salewskii (Original description ♂)
Thoma, in Thoma et al., 2014 The new Southeast Asian goblin spider genus Aposphragisma (Araneae, Oonopidae): diversity and phylogeny: 66, f. 42A-H, 43A-C doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3798.1.1
Aposphragisma salewskii (Original description ♀, ♂)
Tong, Wang & Tong, 2016 First discoveries of the females of two oonopid spider species from Singapore (Arachnida, Araneae): 26, f. 1A-H, 2, 3A-F doi:10.3969/j.issn.1005-9628.2016.01.007
* Retrieved from the World Spider Catalog.
Singapore, Malaysia.