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Hersiliidae Hersilia

Hersilia savignyi Lucas, 1836

Dusky Two-tailed Spider

This species may be distinguished from other Hersilia in Singapore chiefly by its preference for artificial structures and roadside tree trunks, although they may also be found occasionally on trees in parkland and secondary forests. Like H. deelemanae, it has relatively long legs and posterior lateral spinnerets, but the female abdomen is grape-shaped rather than pear-shaped as in H. deelemanae. Some individuals are instantly recognised as they are almost blackish, darker than any other species in Singapore. However, other individuals exist in various shades of grey, including some lightly coloured ones. All have long white hairs sparsely scattered on the coxae and the abdomen.

Length♀ 7–8 mm; ♂ 5–6 mm
Type LocalityMalabar, India
DistributionSingapore, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, India.
HabitatSee narrative above.

Taxonomy

Type Deposits*

  1. Holotype

    British Museum of Natural History (BMNH)/Natural History Museum (NHMUK), London, UK; ♀ (1895.9.21.106) of Hersilia clathrata (Baehr & Baehr, 1993b)

  2. Holotype

    College of Science, Osmania University, Hayderabad (OUNHM), India; ♂ (ART.ARA.2011.13) of Hersilia aadi (Pravalikha, Srinivasulu & Srinivasulu, 2014)

  3. Lectotype

    Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France; ♂ (8124) (Baehr & Baehr, 1993b)

  4. Paratype

    College of Science, Osmania University, Hayderabad (OUNHM), India; 1♀ (ART.ARA.2011.14) of Hersilia aadi (Pravalikha, Srinivasulu & Srinivasulu, 2014)

  5. Paralectotype

    Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France; 1♂ 1♀ (8124) (Baehr & Baehr, 1993b)

Taxonomic references*

  1. Hersilia savignyi (Original description ♀)

    Lucas, 1836a Observations sur les Araneides du genre Hersilia et description de deux espèces nouvelles appartenant a ce genre: 10, pl. 13, f. 1

  2. Hersilia indica (misidentified per Baehr & Baehr, 1993b: 29)

    Walckenaer, 1837 Histoire naturelle des insectes. Aptères. Tome premier: 372 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.61095

  3. Hersilia calcuttensis (Original description ♀)

    Stoliczka, 1869 Contribution towards the knowledge of Indian Arachnoidea: 216, pl. 20, f. 9

  4. Hersilia savignyi (Original description ♂)

    Simon, 1885h Matériaux pour servir à la faune arachnologiques de l'Asie méridionale: 19, pl. 10, f. 18-19

  5. Hersilia savignyi (♂♀)

    Simon, 1893a Histoire naturelle des araignées. Deuxième édition, tome premier: 414, f. 417, 426 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51973

  6. Hersilia clathrata (Original description ♀)

    Thorell, 1895b Descriptive catalogue of the spiders of Burma, based upon the collection made by Eugene W. Oates and preserved in the British Museum: 56 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.17492

  7. Hersilia savignyi (♀)

    Pocock, 1900a The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Arachnida: 241, f. 82 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.48423

  8. Hersilia savignyi (Synonym of Hersilia calcuttensis)

    Simon, 1901k On the Arachnida collected during the Skeat expedition to the Malay Peninsula: 49 doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1901.tb08164.x

  9. Hersilia savignyi

    Gravely, 1922 Common Indian spiders: 1050, pl

  10. Hersilia savignyi (♀)

    Benoit, 1974c Araignées intéressantes du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Genève: 995, f. 1, 4

  11. Hersilia savignyi (♀)

    Tikader & Biswas, 1981 Spider fauna of Calcutta and vicinity: Part-I: 47, f. 74-76

  12. Hersilia savignyi (♂♀)

    Gajbe, 1993a New record of spider Hersilia savignyi Lucas (family: Hersiliidae) from Madhya Pradesh India with a description of male: 117, f. 1-3

  13. Hersilia savignyi (♂♀, Synonym of Hersilia clathrata)

    Baehr & Baehr, 1993b The Hersiliidae of the Oriental Region including New Guinea: 29, f. 5, 22a-f

  14. Hersilia clathrata (♂♀)

    Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 Riceland spiders of South and Southeast Asia: 411, f. 246a-k

  15. Hersilia savignyi (♂♀)

    Gajbe, 2004b Studies on some spiders of the families Oecobiidae, Eresidae, Hersiliidae, Urocteidae and Uloboridae (Araneae: Arachnida) from Madhya Pradesh, India: 135, f. 1-3

  16. Hersilia savignyi (♂♀)

    Gajbe, 2007 Araneae: Arachnida: 434, f. 26-30

  17. Hersilia aadi (Original description ♂♀)

    Pravalikha, Srinivasulu & Srinivasulu, 2014 New species of genus Hersilia Audouin, 1826 (Araneae: Hersiliidae) from India: 5554, images 1a-j, 2, 3a-f, f. 1a-c doi:10.11609/JoTT.o3723.5553-7

  18. Hersilia savignyi (♂♀, S of Hersilia aadi)

    Caleb et al., 2017a Hersilia aadi Pravalikha, Srinivasulu & Srinivasulu, 2014 a junior synonym of Hersilia savignyi Lucas, 1836 (Araneae: Hersiliidae): 396, f. 1-3 doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4254.3.11

  19. Hersilia savignyi (♀)

    Tyagi et al., 2019 Identification of Indian spiders through DNA barcoding: cryptic species and species complex: Supplement, f. S2.23, S3.25 doi:10.1038/s41598-019-50510-8

  20. Hersilia savignyi (♂♀)

    Biswas & Raychaudhuri, 2019a A new record of two-tailed spider genus Hersilia Savigny, 1825 of the fauna of Bangladesh (Araneae: Hersiliidae): 17, f. 1a-h

  21. Hersilia savignyi (♂♀)

    Caleb, 2020b Spider (Arachnida: Araneae) fauna of the scrub jungle in the Madras Christian College campus, Chennai, India: 15723, f. 8A-E, 26C doi:10.11609/jott.5758.12.7.15711-15766

  22. Hersilia savignyi (♂♀)

    Sajid et al., 2023 Faunistic and DNA barcoding of the recorded spiders (Araneae: Gnaphosidae, Hersiliidae and Salticidae) from Lower Dir (Pakistan): 24, f. 12-13, 15-20 doi:10.17957/IJAB/15.1999

* Retrieved from the World Spider Catalog.

Distribution Map for Hersilia savignyi Lucas, 1836

Singapore, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, India.

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