Sparassidae Heteropoda

Heteropoda tutula Jäger & Koh, 2024

Slender Unicorn Huntsman Spider

This huntsman spider is provisionally classified under Heteropoda because its male palp is configured similar to those of other Heteropoda. Like other Heteropoda, the mother carries a cushion-shaped egg sac under its chelicerae.

However, it differs from typical Heteropoda in having a more slender abdomen and a female copulatory organ that is at variance with the structural patterns seen in other Heteropoda. Unlike most Heteropoda, the female has a light-coloured dorsal line running along the longitudinal axis of the body. In the male, the dorsal line is forked on the carapace and hardly visible on the abdomen. In both sexes, stiff bristles project from the cephalic region, conjuring an image of a unicorn.

Length♀ 10–11 mm; ♂ 11–13 mm.
HabitatFoliage & tree trunks in lowland forests.
Type LocalityUpper Peirce Reservoir, Singapore.
DistributionBrunei, Malaysia (Sabah), Singapore.

Taxonomy

Type Depositories

  1. Holotype

    Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM), National University of Singapore, Singapore; ♀ (Jäger & Koh, 2024)

Taxonomic references

  1. Heteropoda tutula (Original description ♀)

    Jäger & Koh, 2024 On some Heteropoda species from Southeast Asia with new data on their biology and distribution range and the resurrection of a new species group (Sparassidae: Heteropodinae): 32, f. 124-125, 130-133 doi:10.46357/bcnaturais.v19i3.1041

Filter by

Nontype ♀

15 Aug 2024

CCNR, Upper Peirce Reservoir, Pipeline Trail, Singapore

1°23'10"N, 103°48'39"E

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Catalog No: JK.24.08.15.0008

Nontype

1 May 2021

Singapore

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Catalog No: JK.21.05.01.0001

Nontype ♂

16 Jan 2021

Rifle Range Nature Park, Singapore

1°20'36"N, 103°46'45"E

Catalog No: JK.21.01.16.0001

Nontype ♀

21 Jun 2014

Singapore

Catalog No: JK.14.06.21.0001

Nontype

4 Jun 2013

CCNR, MacRitchie Reservoir, Terentang Trail, Singapore

Nontype

4 Jun 2013

CCNR, MacRitchie Reservoir, Terentang Trail, Singapore

1°21'18"N, 103°48'49"E

Catalog No: JK.13.06.04.0001

Holotype ♀

30 Jan 1991

CCNR, Upper Peirce Reservoir, Pipeline Trail, Singapore

1°23'10"N, 103°48'39"E

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Catalog No: JK.91.01.30.0008

Nontype ♀

14 Nov 1990

CCNR, Upper Peirce Reservoir, Pipeline Trail, Singapore

1°23'10"N, 103°48'39"E

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Catalog No: JK.90.11.14.0013

Nontype

8 Aug 1990

CCNR, Upper Peirce Reservoir, Grassy field, Singapore

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Catalog No: JK.90.08.08.0005

Distribution of Heteropoda tutula Jäger & Koh, 2024

Brunei, Malaysia (Sabah), Singapore.

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