Poecilochroa
| Poecilochroa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| P. variana | |
 | |
| P. variana | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Gnaphosidae |
| Genus: | Poecilochroa Westring, 1874[1] |
| Type species | |
| P. variana (C. L. Koch, 1839) | |
| Species | |
|
28, see text | |
Poecilochroa is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by Niklas Westring in 1874.[2]
Description
[edit]As Gnaphosidae, Poecilochroa have large cylindrical spinnerets. They are nocturnal, spending the day in silken retreats and going out at night to hunt.[3]
Poecilochroa are divided into two gnaphosid groups based on their abdomen colouration: those with plain abdomens are in the Echemus group, while those with black and white abdomen are in the Herpyllus group. Males of both groups have well-developed dorsal scuta.[4]
Habitat
[edit]Poecilochroa occur in various habitats including on and under stones and dead leaves, on vegetation, in steppes, grasslands, dry fields, stream beds and forest floors.[5][6]
Species
[edit]
Poecilochroa sp. from Karnataka, India
P. albomaculata
As of September 2025[update], this genus includes 28 species:[1]
- Poecilochroa albomaculata (Lucas, 1846) – Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia
- Poecilochroa alcala Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
- Poecilochroa anomala (Hewitt, 1915) – South Africa, Lesotho
- Poecilochroa barmani Tikader, 1982 – India
- Poecilochroa bifasciata Banks, 1902 – Galapagos
- Poecilochroa capensis Strand, 1909 – South Africa
- Poecilochroa carinata Caporiacco, 1947 – Uganda
- Poecilochroa dayamibrookiana Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
- Poecilochroa exoculata Lissner, 2024 – Canary Islands
- Poecilochroa faradjensis Lessert, 1929 – DR Congo
- Poecilochroa haplostyla Simon, 1907 – São Tomé and Príncipe
- Poecilochroa insularis Kulczyński, 1911 – Indonesia (Java)
- Poecilochroa involuta Tucker, 1923 – South Africa
- Poecilochroa joreungensis Paik, 1992 – Korea
- Poecilochroa khodiar (Patel, 1988) – India
- Poecilochroa kuljitae (Tikader, 1982) – India
- Poecilochroa latefasciata Simon, 1893 – Peru
- Poecilochroa parangunifasciata Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
- Poecilochroa patricia (Simon, 1878) – France (Corsica)
- Poecilochroa pauciaculeis Caporiacco, 1947 – Eritrea
- Poecilochroa phyllobia (Thorell, 1871) – Italy
- Poecilochroa rollini Berland, 1933 – French Polynesia (Marquesas Islands, Tuamotu)
- Poecilochroa taeguensis Paik, 1992 – Korea
- Poecilochroa tridotus Caleb & Mathai, 2013 – India
- Poecilochroa trifasciata Mello-Leitão, 1918 – Brazil
- Poecilochroa variana (C. L. Koch, 1839) – Europe, Central Asia (type species)
- Poecilochroa viduata (Pavesi, 1883) – Ethiopia
- Poecilochroa vittata Kulczyński, 1911 – Indonesia (Java)
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Genus Poecilochroa". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
- ↑ Westring, N. (1874). "Bemerkungen über die Arachnologischen Abhandlungen von Dr T. Thorell unter dem Titel: 1°, On European Spiders, pts 1 et 2, Upsala, 1869-70. 2°, Remarks on Synonyms of European Spiders, Upsala, 1872-73". Göteborgs Kungliga Vetenskaps och Vitterhets Samhälles Handlingar. 14: 1–68.
- ↑ "Flat-bellied ground spiders, Gnaphosidae". ednieuw.home.xs4all.nl. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
- ↑ Chatzaki, J. Lissner M. (2016-01-01). First records of Poecilochroa taborensis Levy, 1999 (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) from Greece and Cyprus with notes on some closely related species. OCLC 1248842562.
- ↑ Bayram, Abdullah; Varol, M. İsmail (2003). "On Poecilochroa variana, recently collected in Turkey for the first time (Araneae: Gnaphosidae)". Zoology in the Middle East. 30 (1): 101–104. doi:10.1080/09397140.2003.10637994. ISSN 0939-7140. S2CID 84776303.
- ↑ Alioua, Youcef; Bosmans, Robert (May 2020). "Poecilochroa senilis (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872) (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) recorded for the first time in Algeria and Morocco, with the proposition of a new synonym". The Arachnological Bulletin of the Middle East and North Africa. 17 (2): 121–126.
External links
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