Philodromus Walckenaer, 1826

Muster, Christoph, 2009, The Ebo-like running crab spiders in the Old World (Araneae, Philodromidae), ZooKeys 16 (16), pp. 47-73 : 55

Genus Philodromus Walckenaer, 1826 ad part. (the Philodromus histrio species group)

Rhysodromus Schick, 1965: 67.

Philodromus histrio species group – Dondale and Redner 1975: 370, 372; Szita and Logunov 2008: 25-27 .

Type species of Rhysodromus: Thomisus histrio Latreille, 1819 .

Diagnosis. Philodromus spiders with some Ebo -like characters: AME larger than other eyes (AME size index 0.035-0.06), leg II moderately elongated (Leg II length index 1.1-1.4). Prosoma longer than wide (or at least as wide as long). Clypeus high (Clypeus height index> 0.16, Fig. 10 ). Spination of legs similar to Halodromus and Titanebo , but more variable. Metatarsus III and IV ventral 2-2-2 (if always?). Patella of male palp usually without apophysis, in subgenus Locupletes Schick, 1965 with small apical apophysis (<1/4 length of patella), palpal tibia with 0-2 apophyses. Embolus stout, its tip pointing to cymbium tip. PTA present or absent. Conductor a membraneous outgrowth at anterior margin of tegulum. Female genitalia not clearly distinguishable from Halodromus .

Remarks. The eastern-Palaearctic species of the Philodromus histrio group were recently reviewed by Szita and Logunov (2008), but delineation of the taxon remained vague and no evidence for monophyly of the included species was provided. The histrio group in its current limits is most likely an artificial assemblage of superficially similar species. A recent cladistic analysis within Philodromidae ( Muster 2009) has shown that histrio and related species are more closely related to the Thanatini ( Thanatus and Tibellus ) than to other Philodromus species groups. Thus, Rhysodromus clearly deserves re-elevation to genus rank, but the urgently required revision of the histrio group from a phylogenetic perspective is beyond the scope of this study.

Composition and distribution. Szita and Logunov (2008) include 16 species from the eastern Palearctic in the Philodromus histrio group. In the Nearctic the taxon is represented by three polytypic species ( Schick 1965; Dondale and Redner 1975). The group also occurs in the Mediterranean and in (northern) Africa, but species from this region still await a proper revision. Philodromus halophilus ( Levy, 1977) comb. n. is transferred from Ebo to this group. The male lacks a patellar apophysis and the morphometric indices fall well within the range of the histrio group.

Figures

Figures 7-16. 7, 11 Ebo pepinensis from Utah Lake 8, 12 Titanebo parabolis from Utah 9, 15 Halodromus patellaris, from Monastir 10 Philodromus lepidus from Kebili, Tunisia 13 Halodromus patellidens from Kuwait 14 Halodromus barbarae sp. n. from Cartagena 16 Halodromus gershomi sp. n. from Massawa 7-10 Female clypeus and chelicerae, frontal view 11-16 Female cephalothorax, dorsal view. Scale lines = 0.5 mm.