ARACHNOLOGISCHE GESELLSCHAFT

Doi
10.5431/aramit3103
Autor

Bolzern A & Hänggi A

Jahr
2006
Titel

Drassodes lapidosus und Drassodes cupreus (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) – eine unendliche Geschichte

Titel übersetzt

Drassodes lapidosus and Drassodes cupreus (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) – a never-ending discussion

Ausgabe

Heft 31

Seiten
16-22
Abstract

According to Platnick (2006) the taxa Drassodes lapidosus (Walckenaer, 1802), the type species of the genus Drassodes (Westring, 1851), and Drassodes cupreus (Blackwall, 1834) are two valid species. However Grimm (1985) merged them into one taxon. Different taxonomists have separated these species by the positions of the teeth in the frontal margin of the chelicerae and by the proportions of the palpal segments in males. Females are separated by the proportions of different features in the epigyne. The altitude at which they occur is used for separation, too. The aim of this paper is to discuss whether these characteristics really allow the separation of these two taxa. In order to solve these taxonomical problem, 116 male and 108 female specimens from Central Europe were examined. The variation of the mentioned characters is shown. Spearman's rho correlations and factor analyses are presented. The results show that there are transitions between the two taxa D. lapidosus and D. cupreus and, thus, they cannot be separated using the diagnostic features currently available.

Datenpaket
Keywords

morphological characters; spiders; taxonomy