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Telemidae Telemofila

Telemofila fabata (Wang & Li, 2010)

Singapore Long-legged Leaf Litter Spider

This species was described with Singapore as its type locality. Although it is small and inconspicuous, it is common among deep leaf forest litter in Singapore.

Like most other telemids living outside caves, four of its six eyes are arranged in a nearly straight row in front with the ALE and PLE touching each other at the side. This species may be recognised by its long and slender legs, and long hairs over an oval abdomen that has a purplish-brown sheen. The colouration pattern of the males may vary, as shown in the two pictures here. The pear-shaped carapace, with a darkened and irregular median longitudinal band, has an extended clypeus projecting forward and downward. Each male palp is dominated by a balloon-like structure visible with a naked eye.

Lower row,

Length♀ 1 mm; ♂ 1 mm
Type LocalitySingapore
DistributionSingapore.
HabitatDeep leaf litter in primary and mature secondary forests.
BiologyWhile some telemids suspend their egg sacs in their irregular webs, the female of this species carries its nearly spherical white egg sac attached to the spinnerets. In doing so, it moves about on "tip-toe" whilst keeping its abdomen raised.

Taxonomy

Type Deposits*

  1. Holotype

    Naturalis, National Museum of Natural History (RMNH), Leiden, Netherlands; ♂ (Wang & Li, 2010b)

  2. Paratype

    Naturalis, National Museum of Natural History (RMNH), Leiden, Netherlands; 8♂ 7♀ (Wang & Li, 2010b)

Taxonomic references*

  1. Telema fabata (Original description ♂♀)

    Wang & Li, 2010b Four new species of the spider genus Telema (Araneae, Telemidae) from Southeast Asia: 10, f. 8A-D, 9A-B, 10A-F, 11A-B doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2719.1.1

  2. Telemofila fabata (Transferred from Telema)

    Zhao, Li & Zhang, 2020 Taxonomic revision of Telemidae (Arachnida, Araneae) from East and Southeast Asia: 81 doi:10.3897/zookeys.933.38653

* Retrieved from the World Spider Catalog.

Distribution Map for Telemofila fabata (Wang & Li, 2010)

Singapore.

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