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Hersiliidae Hersilia

Hersilia sumatrana (Thorell, 1890)

Sumatran Two-tailed Spider

This is the largest Hersilia in Singapore, easily recognised by the sheer sizes of its males and females. In both sexes, the dorsum shows four pairs of eye-like motifs, each with a large circular pit known as a "sigillum". The colouration of the female is a pinkish or greyish green background interspersed with contrasting black bands or streaks. The male may be readily identified by the two clusters of stout spines (a pair in one cluster, and another four to five in another) arranged on the palpal tibia.

Length♀ 11 mm; ♂ 7 mm.
HabitatTree trunks in wooded areas, occasionally in mature gardens.
Type LocalitySibolga, North Sumatra, Indonesia.
DistributionBrunei, Indonesia (North Sumatra), Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak), Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore.

Taxonomy

Type Depositories

  1. Holotype

    Museo Civico Storia Naturale G. Doria, Genova (MCSNG), Italy; ♀ (Baehr & Baehr, 1993b)

  2. Holotype

    National Zoological Collections, Zoological Survey of India (NZC-ZSI), Kolkata, India; ♂ (2280/18) of Hersilia stevensi (Baehr & Baehr, 1993b)

  3. Holotype

    British Museum of Natural History (BMNH)/Natural History Museum (NHMUK), London, UK; ♂ (1895.9.21.107) of Hersilia pectinata (Baehr & Baehr, 1993b)

  4. Holotype

    Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IZCAS), Beijing, China; ♀ (AR9015) of Hersilia yunnanensis (Lin & Li, 2022a)

  5. Paratype(s)

    National Zoological Collections, Zoological Survey of India (NZC-ZSI), Kolkata, India; 2♀ (2287/18) of Hersilia stevensi (Baehr & Baehr, 1993b)

Taxonomic references

  1. Chalinura sumatrana (Original description j; described in a fossil genus)

    Thorell, 1890a Studi sui ragni Malesi e Papuani: 319

  2. Hersilia sumatrana (Original description ♀)

    Thorell, 1890b Aracnidi di Nias e di Sumatra raccolti nel 1886 dal Sig: 8

  3. Tama sumatrana

    Simon, 1893a Histoire naturelle des araignées. Deuxième édition, tome premier: 445 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51973

  4. Hersilia pectinata (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: 58 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.17492

  5. Hersilia pectinata (Synonym of Hersilia peguana, rejected by Baehr & Baehr, 1993b: 78, see H. peguana<)

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

  6. Hersilia ceylonica (♀; invalid provisional name)

    Strand, 1907k Süd- und ostasiatische Spinnen: 124

  7. Hersilia stevensi (Original description ♀)

    Sinha, 1951b Some Indian spiders of the family Hersiliidae: 123, f. 1

  8. Hersilia yunnanensis (Original description ♀)

    Wang, Song & Qiu, 1993 A new species of the family Hersiliidae from Yunnan (Araneae): 33, f. 1-3

  9. Hersilia sumatrana (♀, Transferred from Tama, Synonym of Hersilia stevensi)

    Baehr & Baehr, 1993b The Hersiliidae of the Oriental Region including New Guinea: 50, f. 33e-f

  10. Hersilia yunnanensis (♀)

    Song, Zhu & Chen, 1999 The spiders of China: 80, f. 32M-N

  11. Hersilia sumatrana (♀, Synonym of Hersilia yunnanensis)

    Lin & Li, 2022a Taxonomic notes on seven species of the family Hersiliidae (Arachnida: Araneae) from China and the Philippines: 140, f. 7A-C doi:10.11865/zs.2022204

  12. Hersilia sumatrana (♂♀, Synonym of Hersilia pectinata)

    Hoang, 2024a First record of the genus Hersilia Audouin, 1826 and family Hersiliidae (Araneae) from Vietnam: 16, f. 1-13 doi:10.25221/fee.509.4

Distribution of Hersilia sumatrana (Thorell, 1890)

Brunei, Indonesia (North Sumatra), Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak), Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore.

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