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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Chelicerates (Chelicerata) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynae » Antmimics and Ground Sac Spiders (Corinnidae) » Castianeira » Castianeira athena
Photo#405812
Castianeira? - Castianeira athena - female
Copyright © 2010 Ken Schneider

Castianeira? - Castianeira athena - Female
Stulsaft Park, Redwood City, San Mateo County, California, USA
June 5, 2010
Size: 5 mm
I collected this adult female spider by sifting oak leaf litter. Looks like it keys out to Castianeira, unless I screwed up somehow, but I can't find a perfect match with the epigynum or abdominal pattern in the Reiskind revision. The markings on the abdomen seem most similar to variata, which is not in my area, and it doesn't seem to match occidens or thalia, which are apparently the most likely in my area... Am I wrong on the family or genus (again)?

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Castianeira? - Castianeira athena - female Castianeira? - Castianeira athena - female Castianeira? - Castianeira athena - female Castianeira? - Castianeira athena - female
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Contributed by Ken Schneider on 5 June, 2010 - 2:22pm
Last updated 18 February, 2012 - 2:22pm

Moved
Moved from Castianeira.
… john and jane balaban, 18 February, 2012 - 2:22pm login or register to post comments

This looks more like athena to us
here
… john and jane balaban, 16 February, 2012 - 4:55pm login or register to post comments

 
..
Interesting site -- looks new. Pity that the images are so small. I think you might be right.
… Kevin Pfeiffer, 16 February, 2012 - 5:06pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Spiders.

From Rod Crawford:
Certainly a Castianeira - C. thalia is the most likely. Coloration is
variable; failure to match epigynum would be because it is one molt
from maturity, with a "proto-epigynum."
… Lynette Elliott, 7 June, 2010 - 8:59am login or register to post comments

 
..
That's all good to know. I've experienced this myself before -- one looks at what one thinks must be the epigyne but there's just not that much real detail to see and, of course, nothing that matches. Very frustrating.

Ken, if you go back next weekend and do some leaf-sifting, maybe you'll be able to turn up a mature one.

-
… Kevin Pfeiffer, 7 June, 2010 - 3:12pm login or register to post comments

 
Collected -
a mature female this time from the same location (see below). Description and epigynum seem to match thalia fairly well, but "distinctive" color pattern in Reskind is different than mine...

… Ken Schneider, 22 June, 2010 - 11:38pm login or register to post comments

 
Wonderful!
Thanks for the information! I've never heard of a proto-epigynum before and didn't know about this issue. I'll see if I can find some true matures soon...
… Ken Schneider, 8 June, 2010 - 3:34pm login or register to post comments

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