Misumenops


Misumenops is a common genus of crab spider with more than 50 described species.
The majority of the species of Misumenops, more than 80, have been transferred to 13 genera: Ansiea, Demogenes, Diaea, Ebelingia, Ebrechtella, Henriksenia, Heriaeus, Mecaphesa, Micromisumenops , Misumena, Misumenoides, Misumessus, and Runcinioides.

Distribution

Most species of this genus occur in the Americas from Canada to Argentina, with only a few exceptions:

Description

These are small spiders, measuring 2–7 mm in body length. The body colour ranges from yellow to pale green, though the green coloration fades to yellow when preserved in alcohol. Some specimens display red or brown patterns or lines on the carapace and abdomen, and legs I and II are sometimes banded with red or brown.
The carapace is as wide as it is long, low and slightly convex in profile, with the surface clothed with numerous erect spiniform setae. The eyes are arranged in two recurved rows, with the lateral eyes larger than the median eyes and situated on conjoined tubercles. The clypeus is vertical and bears four pairs of long primary setae on its margin. The sternum is heart-shaped.
The abdomen is round in dorsal view and flattened, clothed with numerous erect spiniform setae. The anterior two pairs of legs are approximately equal in length and thickness, but are longer and stronger than the posterior pairs. The prolateral surface of femora I and II bears strong setae, while the ventral surface of the tibiae and metatarsi has a double row of macro-setae. Males exhibit sexual dimorphism in shape, size and colour.

Name

The genus name is derived from the related crab spider genus Misumena and the Greek ending ops "looks like". This ending is often used to denote closely related or similar looking genera.

Species

, this genus includes 54 species and one subspecies:Misumenops anachoretusArgentinaMisumenops armatus Spassky, 1952 – Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, TajikistanMisumenops bellulusUnited States, Cuba, Jamaica, Virgin Is. DominicaMisumenops biannulipesBrazilMisumenops bivittatusBrazil, UruguayMisumenops callinurus Mello-Leitão, 1929 – BrazilMisumenops candidoiGuyanaMisumenops carneus Mello-Leitão, 1944 – ArgentinaMisumenops conspersusPeruMisumenops consuetusMexicoMisumenops croceusColombia to ParaguayMisumenops cruentatusUnited StatesMisumenops curadoi Soares, 1943 – BrazilMisumenops decolorEthiopiaMisumenops delmasi Berland, 1927 – Marquesas IslandsMisumenops fluminensis Mello-Leitão, 1929 – BrazilMisumenops forcatus Song & Chai, 1990 – ChinaMisumenops gibbosus – BrazilMisumenops gracilisMexicoMisumenops guianensisVenezuela, Brazil, French Guiana, ParaguayMisumenops haemorrhous Mello-Leitão, 1949 – BrazilMisumenops hunanensis Yin, Peng & Kim, 2000 – ChinaMisumenops ignobilis – Paraguay, ArgentinaMisumenops khandalaensis Tikader, 1965 – IndiaMisumenops lacticeps – ArgentinaMisumenops lenis – BrazilMisumenops longispinosus – BrazilMisumenops maculissparsusBonaire, Brazil, Argentina Misumenops melloleitaoi Berland, 1942 – French Polynesia Misumenops mexicanus – MexicoMisumenops morrisi Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – PhilippinesMisumenops ocellatusBolivia, ArgentinaMisumenops octoguttatus Mello-Leitão, 1941 – ArgentinaMisumenops pallens – Guatemala to ArgentinaMisumenops pallidus – Colombia to Argentina