Genus Hypochilus

Author of genus Hypochilus is Marx, G. 1888. On a new and interesting spider. Ent. Amer. 4: 160-162. (George Marx, American, 1838-1895, see Wikispecies).

Genus Hypochilus, has eleven species, all apparently North American.

males typically 8-10 mm body length, females 10-20 mm, typically about 15 mm (1)

According to the World Spider Catalog none are found in Canada.

California Taxa:

bernardino - Catley, 1994 - San Bernardino Mountains, southern CA

kastoni - Platnick, 1987 - Klamath-Trinity Mountains, far northern CA

petrunkevitchi - Gertsch, 1958 - western slopes of central and southern Sierra Nevada

Hypochilus xomote - Hedin & Ciaccio, 2022 - "Known only from the upper Tule River and upper Cedar Creek drainages, at the southern end of the California Sierra Nevada mountains"

Rocky Mountains:

bonneti - Gertsch, 1964 - central and southern CO

jemez - Catley, 1994 - far northern New Mexico

southern Appalachians:

coylei - Platnick, 1987 - western North Carolina

sheari - Platnick, 1987 - western North Carolina

gertschi - Hoffman, 1963 - sw VA, southern WV, eastern KY

pococki - Platnick, 1987 - mostly western North Carolina, adjacent eastern TN, sw VA, northern GA, eastern TN

thorelli - Marx, 1888 - southern KY, eastern TN, northern GA, northern AL

Ranges of bonneti, gertschi, petrunkevitchi & thorelli from How to Know the Spiders. (1)

The rest of the ranges are from Spiders of North America. (2)

Construct irregular webs on the underside of overhanging ledges, often near streams or in caves. The web may resemble a lampshade (1).

As I mentioned earlier, H. coylei is the only one found in the Hickory Nut Gorge area. H. sheari is found further north (in Madison County). H. pococki is found further west, and with a MUCH wider distribution. I hope to add an image of that species later. The difficulty with this genus is that they are basically impossible to tell apart, short of examining the male genitalia, or knowing the locale.

… Ed Corey, 26 October, 2006