Episinus

Episinus is a genus of comb-footed spiders that was first described by Pierre André Latreille in 1809.
They can grow up to long.

Distribution

Spiders of this genus are found worldwide.

Life style

Episinus can be found at ground level between low vegetation, making a very simple H or Y-shaped web near ground level. Courtship takes place in summer. The egg-sac is white and spherical and has a coarse loop of silk around it.

Description

The body length is 6 mm. The carapace is slightly longer than it is wide, and the eye region is either roundly elevated or projects anteriorly. There is often a pair of horns between the anterior and posterior median eyes that feature silvery and sometimes reddish pigment.
The clypeus is low and flat, and it usually projects anteriorly. The fovea is distinct and long. Eight eyes are arranged more or less circularly, often on tubercles, with the anterior median eyes being the smallest. The eyes are usually bordered by black.
The abdomen is usually widest behind the middle and is modified with humps and tubercles. It is often light-colored with marks and streaks, and sometimes features white pigment.
The leg formula is either 1423 or 4123, and all legs are somewhat robust. The legs are usually pale yellow to brown in color, with dusky flecks and marks or bands.

Species

, this genus includes 44 species and one subspecies:Episinus affinis Bösenberg & Strand, 1906 – India, Russia, Korea, Taiwan, JapanEpisinus algiricus Lucas, 1846 – Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Algeria, TunisiaEpisinus amoenus Banks, 1911 – United States, MexicoEpisinus angulatus – Europe, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, Central AsiaEpisinus antipodianus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1880 – New ZealandEpisinus bilineatus Simon, 1894 – Botswana, South Africa, LesothoEpisinus bimucronatus – VenezuelaEpisinus bishopi – DR Congo, South AfricaEpisinus bonjovi Lin & Li, 2021 – ChinaEpisinus cavernicola – Croatia, SloveniaEpisinus chikunii Yoshida, 1985 – JapanEpisinus emanus Levi, 1964 – PanamaEpisinus fontinalis Levy, 1985 – IsraelEpisinus garisus Buckup & Marques, 1992 – BrazilEpisinus gibbus Zhu & Wang, 1995 – ChinaEpisinus hickmani Caporiacco, 1949 – KenyaEpisinus immundus – Peru, BrazilEpisinus implexus – VenezuelaEpisinus israeliensis Levy, 1985 – IsraelEpisinus jiangweni Lin & Li, 2021 – ChinaEpisinus kitazawai Yaginuma, 1958 – Russia, JapanEpisinus longabdomenus Zhu, 1998 – ChinaEpisinus macrops Simon, 1903 – Equatorial Guinea, DR CongoEpisinus maculipes Cavanna, 1876 – Europe, Algeria, Turkey, Caucasus

* E. m. numidicus Kulczyński, 1905 – Algeria, TunisiaEpisinus maderianus Kulczyński, 1905 – Canary Islands, MadeiraEpisinus makiharai Okuma, 1994 – TaiwanEpisinus marignaci – Angola, South AfricaEpisinus meruensis Tullgren, 1910 – TanzaniaEpisinus mikhailovi Zamani & Marusik, 2021 – IranEpisinus mucronatus – SingaporeEpisinus nanyue Yin, 2012 – ChinaEpisinus papilionaceous F. J. Liu, Agnarsson, J. Liu & Zhu, 2022 – ChinaEpisinus porteri – Chile, ArgentinaEpisinus punctisparsus Yoshida, 1983 – TaiwanEpisinus rhomboidalis – Malaysia, Myanmar, SingaporeEpisinus similanus Urquhart, 1893 – New ZealandEpisinus similitudus Urquhart, 1893 – New ZealandEpisinus taibeli Caporiacco, 1949 – EthiopiaEpisinus theridioides Simon, 1873 – Spain, France, Italy Episinus tongyani Lin & Li, 2021 – ChinaEpisinus truncatus Latreille, 1809 – Europe, Turkey, Caucasus, Iran Episinus typicus – ChileEpisinus variacorneus Chen, Peng & Zhao, 1992 – ChinaEpisinus xiushanicus Zhu, 1998 – China

Formerly included:

E. bicorniger
E. bicornis
E. bicruciatus
E. bifrons
E. caudifer Dönitz & Strand, 1906
E. coercerveus Roberts, 1978
E. conifer
E. erythrophthalmus
E. gratiosus Bryant, 1940
E. longipes Keyserling, 1884
E. luteolimbatus
E. malachinus
E. marginatus
E. minusculus Gertsch, 1936
E. mirabilis
E. modestus
E. nebulosus
E. ocreatus
E. paiki Seo, 1985
E. pictus
E. recifensis Levi, 1964
E. salobrensis
E. spinigeroides Zhu & Song, 1992
E. tanikawai Yoshida, 1991
E. taprobanicus
E. yoshimurai Yoshida, 1983

Nomen dubium

E. americanus Nicolet, 1849