Miturgidae Xantharia

Xantharia murphyi Deeleman-Reinhold, 2001

Murphy’s Large-eyed Spider

Xantharia may be separated from Systaria by the relatively larger eyes and more rounded carapace, reduced tarsal claw tufts and smaller size. Legs I are stouter than the other legs. The endite has a characteristic diagonal fold. The posterior half of the male abdomen is covered by a leathery scutum. The male also has long and slightly curved spines that splay out in all directions from the carapace and abdomen. These spines are shorter in the female. The species was named in honour of the late John A. Murphy, who together with his equally distinguished late wife Frances, wrote An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia, published in 2000.