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Psechridae Psechrus

Psechrus singaporensis Thorell, 1894

Singapore Lace Web Weaver

This species was named after Singapore as it was first described by the Swedish arachnologist Tamerlan Thorell (1830–1901) based on a female specimen collected by an Irish naturalist Thomas Workman (1844–1900) while on a business trip to the island. Like all Psechrus, it may be distinguished from the only other genus (Fecenia) in Psechridae by a bright white longitudinal line bordered with black on the venter. Unlike Fecenia whose AME are larger than other eyes, the diameter of AME in P. singaporensis approximates those of other eyes. Its legs are long, as in some daddy-long-legs. but P. singaporensis may be recognised as its legs are less slender and more extensively black banded. (In pholcids, the black bands occur mainly at the junctions between leg segments.) P. singaporensis may be separated from other Psechrus species found elsewhere in Southeast Asia by comparing the details of their copulatory organs.

Length♀ 10–18 mm; ♂ 10–16 mm
DistributionSingapore, Malaysia (Pahang, Penang, Selangor), Indonesia (North Sumatra).
HabitatShady crevices in tree trunks, deep leaf litter, clay banks in primary and secondary forests; rocks and cave entrances.
BiologyConstruct domed lace webs over one metre beyond their funnel-like retreat. Escape speedily into their retreat when disturbed. Mother holds spherical egg sac between chelicerae.

Taxonomy

Taxonomic references*

  1. Psechrus singaporensis (Original description ♀)

    Thorell, 1895a Decas aranearum in ins: 321

  2. Psechrus singaporensis (♀)

    Workman, 1896 Malaysian spiders: 73, pl. 78 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.101972

  3. Psechrus curvipalpis (Original description ♂♀)

    Fage, 1929a Fauna of the Batu Caves, Selangor: 358, f. 1-4

  4. Psechrus singaporensis (Synonym of Psechrus sinensis, rejected by Levi, 1982: 123)

    Lehtinen, 1967 Classification of the cribellate spiders and some allied families, with notes on the evolution of the suborder Araneomorpha: 261

  5. Psechrus singaporensis (mf, Synonym of Psechrus curvipalpis, P. annulatus and P. libelti; Synonym of P. annulatus rejecet by Bayer, 2012: 32 and Synonym of )

    Levi, 1982 The spider genera Psechrus and Fecenia (Araneae: Psechridae): 125, f. 40-41, 44-47

  6. Psechrus singaporensis (♀)

    Bayer & Jäger, 2010 Expected species richness in the genus Psechrus in Laos (Araneae: Psechridae): 61, f. 24-25 doi:10.5962/bhl.part.117588

  7. Psechrus singaporensis (♂♀)

    Bayer, 2012 The lace-sheet-weavers – a long story (Araneae: Psechridae: Psechrus): 37, f. 15a-i, 16a-f, 81e, 84h, 87h, 90h doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3379.1.1

* Retrieved from the World Spider Catalog.

Distribution Map for Psechrus singaporensis Thorell, 1894

Singapore, Malaysia (Pahang, Penang, Selangor), Indonesia (North Sumatra).

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