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. |
Habitat | Foliage & tree trunks in lowland forests. |
Type Locality | Upper Peirce Reservoir, Singapore. |
Distribution | Brunei, Malaysia (Sabah), Singapore. |
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)
Class Arachnida (Arachnids)
Order Araneae (Spiders)
Suborder Araneomorphae (Typical Spiders)
Holotype
Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM), National University of Singapore, Singapore; ♀ (Jäger & Koh, 2024)
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
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
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
Brunei, Malaysia (Sabah), Singapore.