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Photo#163384
Castianeira sp #2 - Castianeira dorsata - male

Castianeira sp #2 - Castianeira dorsata - Male
near Cienega Creek, Pima County, Arizona, USA
July 2, 2007
Size: 15mm
Found on ground under vegetation.

Images of this individual: tag all
Castianeira sp #2 - Castianeira dorsata - male Castianeira sp #2 - Castianeira dorsata - male Castianeira sp #2 - Castianeira dorsata - male Castianeira sp #2 - Castianeira dorsata - male

Moved

Moved
Moved from Castianeira. We don't find any indication anywhere that descripta might be in Arizona and this doesn't look to be occidens either, so maybe this is the pattern of the male dorsata. Reiskind says the male has no yellow or white spots on the abdomen, but he has no line drawing :(

 
Reiskind's colors are for preserved specimens
I just ID'd two spiders that readily match C. dorsata by genitalia -- both male and female -- but that didn't match Reiskind's color patterns very well. Some of the patterns that Reiskind said to look for did not exist on my specimens. Or rather, they did not exist on my photos of the live specimens. I do see some of the patterns on the specimens after preservation in alcohol. The venter patterns in particular match. But it's still not a perfect match.

My male does have white patches on the abdomen both live and after preservation for six months or so. The white patches are subtler now that the specimen is in alcohol. Maybe they'll eventually disappear.

Consider that Reiskind says the male ventral sclerite is orange. It's orange on my preserved specimen, but it is distinctly white on my live specimen. So much for Reiskind's requirement that the males not have white patches. If a patch can go from white live to orange dead, Reiskind's pattern requirements just aren't going to work for live specimens.

My thoughts, anyway.

Castianeira descripta
Castianeira descripta

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