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Six-eyed Spiders.
Morphology. The adult spiders 4–15 mm long; slender-bodied, or of medium build; decidedly short-legged, or with legs of medium length (from less than the body length to almost twice its length); with six eyes. The eyes clustered almost in a circle (this anteriorly open, or more or less closed). The palpal organs of the male comprising an exposed bulb attached to the little-modified tarsal segment (no cymbium). Metatarsus IV of the females without a calamistrum. Tarsal claws 2, or 3. The tarsi with claw tufts (when two-clawed), or without claw tufts. The abdomen plain dorsally; exhibiting a pair of large tracheal spiracles behind the book lungs. The tracheal spiracles behind the epigastric fold. The abdomen of the females without a cribellum. The reproductive openings of the females without an epigyne.
The adults constructing a terrestrial retreat in the form of a silk tube (under stones); not making snare-webs; actively pursuing their prey (nocturnal hunters).
Representation in Britain and Ireland. 3 species in Britain; in the genera Dysdera and Harpactea.
Illustrations. • Dysdera erythrina. Dysdera erythrina (Walck.): a, female; b, male; c, profile of cephalothorax and chelicera of male; d, chelicerae, maxillae, labium and sternum of male; e, front view of cephalothorax and chelicerae of male; f and g, two views of the Eresus sandaliatus (Martini & Goeze) palpus of the male. From Blackwall (1864; the size indicator applies to the male). • Dysdera crocata. Dysdera crocata C.L.Koch: a, male;c, profile of the male, showing chelicera and part of the cephalothorax; d and e,two views of the palpus of the male; f, front view of its chelicerae and cephalothorax. From Blackwall (1864). • Harpactea homburgi. Harpactea homburgi (Scop.): a, female; b, chelicerae and eyes, from the front; e, male; f and g, two views of the palpus of the male. From Blackwall (1864).
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. The spider families of Britain and Ireland. Version: 5th August 2019. delta-intkey.com’.
