Tibellus is a genus of slender crab spiders described by Simon in 1875, belonging to the order Araneae, family Philodromidae. Species of this genus are present in Eurasia, Africa, Americas and Australia.

Tibellus
Tibellus species
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Philodromidae
Genus: Tibellus
Simon, 1875

Description

edit

Adult members of this genus can reach 4–15 millimetres (0.16–0.59 in) of length and can mostly be encountered above the soil surface (epigeal organism) on low vegetation, foliage or herbaceous plants, where they actively pursue their preys, as they do not make webs. This genus, which includes active hunters, was once considered a subfamily within the sedentary 'crab spiders' (Thomisidae species).

The basic color of the body is light brown or pale yellow. It is elongate and slender (hence the common name), the carapace (prosoma) and the cylindrical abdomen (opisthosoma) show a large brown stripe in the midline of the back. The long and thin legs are more or less equal in length and they usually are stretched out along grass stems or leaves, the first two pairs forwardly directed.

They generally have eight black equal-sized eyes in two horizontal rows of four each, with posterior median ones close to each other.

Species list

edit

References

edit
  • A Van den Berg - A revision of the Afrotropical species of the genus Tibellus Simon (Araneae: Philodromidae) - A. S A.S. Dippenaar-Schoeman - Vol 37, No 1 (1994)
  • L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz - The Families of Spiders Represented in the British Isles - Philodromidae
  • Michael J Roberts - The spiders of Great Britain and Ireland
edit