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Atypus piceus |
| Subspecies No subspecies are recognized. Original description Synonyms Aranea picea Sulzer, 1776 Atypus piceus
(Sulzer, 1776)
Aranea
subterranea Roemer, 1789Oletera piceus (Sulzer, 1776) Oletera picea (Sulzer, 1776) Atypus subterraneus
(Roemer, 1789)
Aranea aquatica
Roemer, 1789Atypus sulzeri Latreille, 1806 Atypus beckii O. P.-Cambridge, 1875 Proatypus thaleri Braun, 1963 Note: Atypus piceus and Atypus affinis have long been regarded as identical. Older literature therefore does not distinguish between these two species and often list all names given to the two species as synonyms. Identification Body length (without cheliceres) 10 - 15 mm in the female; males are smaller ranging between 7 - 10 mm. The females are dark brown with a purple hue, the males are darker, almost black, also with a purple hue. Distribution Recorded from Central and south-eastern Europe, and eastward to Iran. The species is distributed in western and southern Germany and prefers higher altitudes between 400 m and 1200 m. It is rare and is listed on the Red List of endangered species. Biology Like all German species of Atypus the animals spend most of their lives inside their subterranean tubes that also serves as a trap to catch food (please see the General Introduction for more details). A single female can have between 70 to 160 offspring per year. The spiderlings hatch during fall and remain with their mother over winter. In spring the spiderlings leave the tube of the mother and climb a nearby plant where they start to produce long silk threads for ballooning (=dispersal by air currents). After wind-mediated dispersal the spiderlings build their own tubes and live in them until they reach maturity in their fourth year. Adult males then leave their tubes in June or July to search for females, but the females only leave their tubes to grab prey or to get rid of soil particles and dirt that accumulate in the tube over time. Males enter the tube of a female and mating takes place within the tube. The males die after mating and thus rarely reach a total age of four years, whereas females can live for up to 10 years. The species mostly lives in "colonies" of several hundred individuals that have built their tubes next to each other. They prefer calcareous soil and dry, sunny habitats. Dry grassland and forest edges are preferred especially if the terrain contains a slope, which makes it easier for the animals to build their tubes and camouflage the entrance; it also creates a favourable microclimate because the slope increases sunshine intensity and duration. This page has been updated on May 6, 2012 This site is online since May 31, 2005 Copyright © by Nikola-Michael Prpic. All rights reserved. |
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