Nearctic States & Provinces: AB ON CO MT
Collection Locales Mapped by Year Collected:
The Nearctic Spider Database, http://www.canadianarachnology.org/data/spiders/31877
Xysticus ellipticus Turnbull, Dondale & Redner, 1965
FAMILY: THOMISIDAE Sundevall, 1833
Genus: Xysticus C. L. Koch, 1835
Species: Xysticus ellipticus Turnbull, Dondale & Redner, 1965
Author of this page: Hancock, John (Page complete and awaiting review)
General Comments: Known to lay-in-wait concealed in crevices with just the first pair of legs protruding.
Common Names
Family Common Name:
crab spiders
Genus Common Name:
ground crab spiders
Species Common Name:
none
Distribution
Global Distribution: USA, Canada
Nearctic States & Provinces:
AB ON CO MT
Collection Locales Mapped by Year Collected:
Natural History, Phenology & Image(s)
Feeding Guild:‡
ambushers
‡Feeding guild when noted defined by Uetz, G. W., J. Halaj, and A. B. Cady. 1999. Guild structure of spiders in major crops. Journal of Arachnology 27:270-280.
Recorded Habitats:
Litter in wooded areas (Dondale & Redner, 1978). Both the ground and field layers particularly conifer low canopy that sweeps the ground (Hancock, pers. obs. ).
Life & Natural History:
(not yet recorded or unknown)
Seasonality of Specimen Records:
Image(s) of Habitus:
Credit: Hancock, John
Credit: Hancock, John
Details About Males
Description:
Carapace red-brown, with off-white V and mottled pigment anterior to dorsal groove. First two pairs of legs, dark-red brown, with yellow metatarsus & tarsus. Legs III & IV are a light orange in colour, all with a few white spots and streaks. Dorsum of abdomen red-brown with off-white transverse band at anterior end. Low tegular ridge, which is located near the distal extremity of the tegulum (Dondale & Redner, 1978).
Male Dimensions:
A+B = 3.5 mm
A = 3.2 mm
C = 2.91 mm
Image of External Male Genitalia:
Credit: Hancock, John
Details About Females
Description:
Carapace red-brown, with off-white V and mottled pigment anterior to dorsal groove. First two pairs of legs, dark-red brown, III & IV lighter in colour, all with a few white spots and streaks. Dorsum of abdomen yellow-brown with off-white transverse band at anterior end. Rectangular atrium to the epigynum (Dondale & Redner, 1978).
Female Dimensions:
A+B = 4.5 mm
A = 3.66 mm
C = 3.46 mm
Image of Epigynum:
Credit: Hancock, John
Descriptions Source:
Dondale, C. D. & J. H. Redner. 1978. The insects and arachnids of Canada, Part 5. The crab spiders of Canada and Alaska, Araneae: Philodromidae and Thomisidae. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada, Publ. 1663: 1-255.
Synonyms and Chresonyms†
| Synema obscura Keyserling 1880 |
| Synema obscurum Gertsch 1939 |
| Xysticus ellipticus Turnbull, Dondale & Redner 1965 |
| Xysticus ellipticus Dondale & Redner 1978 |
| Xysticus ellipticus Paquin & Dupérré 2003 |
Taxonomic References†
Dondale, C. D. & J. H. Redner. 1978. The insects and arachnids of Canada, Part 5. The crab spiders of Canada and Alaska, Araneae: Philodromidae and Thomisidae. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada, Publ. 1663: 1-255.
Gertsch, W. J. 1939. A revision of the typical crab spiders (Misumeninae) of America north of Mexico. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 76: 277-442.
Keyserling, E. 1880. Die Spinnen Amerikas, I. Laterigradae. Nürnberg, 1: 1-283.
Paquin, P. & N. Dupérré. 2003. Guide d'identification des araignées de Québec. Fabreries, Suppl. 11 1-251.
Turnbull, A. L., C. D. Dondale & J. H. Redner. 1965. The spider genus Xysticus C. L. Koch (Araneae: Thomisidae) in Canada. Can. Ent. 97: 1233-1280.
†Nomenclature and taxonomic references from the World Spider Catalog accessible at http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/THOMISIDAE.html
Natural History References
Dondale, C. D. & J. H. Redner. 1978. The insects and arachnids of Canada, Part 5. The crab spiders of Canada and Alaska, Araneae: Philodromidae and Thomisidae. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada, Publ. 1663: 1-255.
Other Nearctic Members of Genus Xysticus C. L. Koch, 1835‡‡
X. acquiescens Emerton, 1919 ...............Holarctic
X. alboniger Turnbull, Dondale & Redner, 1965 ...............USA, Canada
X. ampullatus Turnbull, Dondale & Redner, 1965 ...............USA, Canada
X. apachecus Gertsch, 1933 ...............USA
X. apalacheus Gertsch, 1953 ...............USA
X. aprilinus Bryant, 1930 ...............USA
X. auctificus Keyserling, 1880 ...............USA, Canada
X. audax (Schrank, 1803) ...............Palearctic
X. banksi Bryant, 1933 ...............USA
X. benefactor Keyserling, 1880 ...............USA, Canada
X. bicuspis Keyserling, 1887 ...............USA
X. bifasciatus C. L. Koch, 1837 ...............Palearctic
X. bonneti Denis, 1938 ...............Palearctic
X. britcheri Gertsch, 1934 ...............Russia, Alaska, Canada, USA
X. californicus Keyserling, 1880 ...............USA
X. canadensis Gertsch, 1934 ...............Russia, USA, Canada
X. chaparralis Schick, 1965 ...............USA
X. chippewa Gertsch, 1953 ...............Holarctic
X. cochise Gertsch, 1953 ...............USA
X. coloradensis Bryant, 1930 ...............USA
X. concursus Gertsch, 1934 ...............USA
X. cristatus (Clerck, 1757) ...............Palearctic
X. cunctator Thorell, 1877 ...............USA, Canada
X. deichmanni Sorensen, 1898 ...............Canada, Alaska, Greenland
X. discursans Keyserling, 1880 ...............North America
X. durus (Sorensen, 1898) ...............USA, Canada, Greenland
X. elegans Keyserling, 1880 ...............USA, Canada, Alaska
X. emertoni Keyserling, 1880 ...............USA, Canada, Alaska, Slovakia to China
X. facetus O. P.-Cambridge, 1896 ...............Mexico to El Salvador
X. ferox (Hentz, 1847) ...............USA, Canada
X. ferrugineus Menge, 1876 ...............Palearctic
X. fervidus Gerstch, 1953 ...............USA, Canada
X. flavovittatus Keyserling, 1880 ...............USA
X. floridanus Banks, 1896 ...............USA
X. fraternus Banks, 1895 ...............USA, Canada
X. funestus Keyserling, 1880 ...............North America
X. furtivus Gertsch, 1936 ...............USA
X. gallicus Simon, 1875 ...............Palearctic
X. gertschi Schick, 1965 ...............North America
X. gosiutus Gertsch, 1932 ...............USA, Canada
X. gulosus Keyserling, 1880 ...............North America
X. humilis Redner & Dondale, 1965 ...............USA
X. imitarius Gertsch, 1953 ...............USA
X. indiligens (Walckenaer, 1837) ...............USA
X. iviei Schick, 1965 ...............USA
X. iviei sierrensis Schick, 1965 ...............USA
X. keyserlingi Bryant, 1930 ...............USA, Canada
X. labradorensis Keyserling, 1887 ...............Holarctic
X. lanio C. L. Koch, 1835 ...............Palearctic
X. lassanus Chamberlin, 1925 ...............USA, Mexico
X. laticeps Bryant, 1933 ...............USA, Cuba
X. lineatus (Westring, 1851) ...............Palearctic
X. locuples Keyserling, 1880 ...............USA, Canada
X. luctans (C. L. Koch, 1845) ...............USA, Canada
X. luctator L. Koch, 1870 ...............Palearctic
X. luctuosus (Blackwall, 1836) ...............Holarctic
X. lutzi Gertsch, 1935 ...............USA, Mexico
X. montanensis Keyserling, 1887 ...............USA, Canada, Alaska
X. nevadensis (Keyserling, 1880) ...............USA
X. nigromaculatus Keyserling, 1884 ...............USA, Canada
X. ninnii Thorell, 1872 ...............Palearctic
X. obscurus Collett, 1877 ...............Holarctic
X. ocala Gertsch, 1953 ...............USA
X. ontariensis Emerton, 1919 ...............Canada
X. orizaba Banks, 1898 ...............Mexico
X. paiutus Gertsch, 1933 ...............USA, Mexico
X. pearcei Schick, 1965 ...............USA
X. pellax O. P.-Cambridge, 1894 ...............North America
X. peninsulanus Gertsch, 1934 ...............USA
X. posti Sauer, 1968 ...............USA
X. pretiosus Gertsch, 1934 ...............USA, Canada
X. punctatus Keyserling, 1880 ...............USA, Canada
X. robinsoni Gertsch, 1953 ...............USA, Mexico
X. rockefelleri Gertsch, 1953 ...............Mexico
X. rugosus Buckle & Redner, 1964 ...............Russia, Canada, USA
X. sabulosus (Hahn, 1832) ...............Palearctic
X. sphericus (Walckenaer, 1837) ...............USA
X. striatipes L. Koch, 1870 ...............Palearctic
X. tampa Gertsch, 1953 ...............USA
X. texanus Banks, 1904 ...............USA, Mexico
X. triangulosus Emerton, 1894 ...............USA, Canada, Alaska
X. triguttatus Keyserling, 1880 ...............USA, Canada
X. ulmi (Hahn, 1831) ...............Palearctic
X. variabilis Keyserling, 1880 ...............USA
X. viduus Kulczynski, 1898 ...............Palearctic
X. winnipegensis Turnbull, Dondale & Redner, 1965 ...............Canada
‡‡May also include species with Palearctic distribution
Page Reference:
Hancock, John. submitted. Taxonomic and natural history description of FAM: THOMISIDAE, Xysticus ellipticus Turnbull, Dondale & Redner, 1965.
In: The Nearctic Spider Database. David P. Shorthouse (editor). World Wide Web electronic publication. Direct link: http://www.canadianarachnology.org/data/spiders/31877 (Accessed: 7/8/2008 11:45:35 PM).
Author Email Address: spidermanjohn@shaw.ca
Text Last Modified: 2006-02-25T06:34:18Z