Tibellus tenellus
| Stretched Philodromid | |
|---|---|
| specimen from Queensland | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Philodromidae |
| Genus: | Tibellus |
| Species: | T. tenellus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Tibellus tenellus (L. Koch, 1876)
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Tibellus tenellus is a species of running crab spider in the family Philodromidae. It is endemic to Australia, specifically known from Queensland.[1]
Taxonomy
The species was originally described as Thanatus tenellus by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1876 based on a female specimen collected from Peak Downs, Queensland.[2] It was later transferred to the genus Tibellus and is currently classified in the family Philodromidae (running crab spiders).[1]
Many records of T. tenellus from Asia have been determined to be misidentifications of other species in the genus, particularly Tibellus japonicus and Tibellus orientis.[3][4]
Distribution
T. tenellus is endemic to Australia and has been recorded from Queensland.[1] The holotype was collected from Peak Downs, a region in central Queensland located in what is now the Central Highlands Region.[4][1]
Description
The species is distinguished from the similar Tibellus oblongus by having a more elongated opisthosoma (approximately five times as long as wide) compared to T. oblongus which has a shorter abdomen (three times as long as wide). Females possess large spermathecae positioned on a wide base, with copulatory spermathecal gland ducts positioned in front of the spermathecae, whereas T. oblongus has smaller spermathecae on elongated bases with spermathecal gland ducts positioned to the side.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d "Tibellus tenellus (L. Koch, 1876)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
- ^ Koch, L. (1876). Die Arachniden Australiens, nach der Natur beschrieben und abgebildet. Vol. 1. Nürnberg: Bauer & Raspe. p. 849.
- ^ Efimik, V.E. (1999). "A review of the spider genus Tibellus Simon, 1875 of the Russian Far East (Aranei: Philodromidae)". Arthropoda Selecta. 8 (1): 9–18.
- ^ a b c Dupérré, N. (2023). "New light on some historical type specimens -in relation to the South American spider (Araneae) fauna-". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 50 (1): 193. doi:10.1080/03014223.2022.2123835.