Spider - Pimoa - BugGuide.Net

Moved

Moved from Spiders.

… Phil Huntley-Franck, 18 February, 2010 - 2:37pm

He's back!

I believe I found this little guy, again. He was behind the downspout where I first discovered him. I've enhanced the photos of the new post, to better reveal his palps. I also found two females within a foot of him, one with eggs, and one without eggs.

Also, a correction on size. He's actually about 5 - 6mm.

… Phil Huntley-Franck, 16 February, 2010 - 11:12pm

Actually..

...your new photo of a male isn't the same as this one unless there was a molt in between the two photos. I can tell by the cluster of spines on the new photo's femur. Unless this photo above has somehow made it impossible to see the spines, I really don't think they are the same spider or the same species even (unless a molt took place). I'm 96% sure your new male has to be Pimoa altioculata, though. And I would venture a guess that the females nearby may be the same species, but hard to be sure. Adult male P. altioculata are roughly 6.5mm, while adult females of the same species are roughly 8.8mm.

… Mandy Howe, 17 February, 2010 - 1:48am

still don't like it

Maybe it's just the angle of the legs, or it's a juvenile?

… Lynette Elliott, 16 February, 2010 - 11:23pm

Size?

The first thing I thought of was male Neriene digna, but obviously it would be a lot smaller than a Pimoa sp.

… Lynette Elliott, 15 February, 2010 - 9:59pm

My best guess to size would be about 7mm. It was neither a tiny spider, nor a monster. It's also the first one like this I've seen. At first, the abdomen reminded me of an American House Spider, but the head/thorax made me quickly think otherwise.

… Phil Huntley-Franck, 15 February, 2010 - 11:16pm

That is the perfect size for an adult male Pimoa

I hate to put any "pressure" on you, Phil, but I really hope that you run into this guy again...and can maybe collect it. This isn't a Pimoa species that has been represented in the guide yet. I think it would be cool for someone to take a closer look at him and get an ID (due to their larger size, it's possible for me to do it with my camera; I have done it before and have all the necessary species info). It's up to us west coasters to collect and photograph the Pimoa for Bug Guide, as that's the only place they're found in the US & Canada. :)

… Mandy Howe, 17 February, 2010 - 12:54am

Hmm

I'm not too sure either. But I've been researching the pimoidae family lately and that's actually what came to mind when I saw your spider. That's VERY tentative, though. And if you check out the guide's pimoidae section, don't let it fool you... there's only a couple species represented there. There are actually 13 species total and they all have something different about them. If you have any other photos (esp. of palps), that would be great, although I'm sure that if you did, you would've posted them.

… Mandy Howe, 15 February, 2010 - 12:06pm

Interesting

This spider was photographed about a foot from where this image was taken last may. Makes me wonder if the May image might be Mom, and this might be one of the little ones in the accompanying hatchling image. And no, I didn't get a chance to image the palps better, but since I know where it lives, I'll keep an eye out for it (or one of its brothers).

… Phil Huntley-Franck, 15 February, 2010 - 4:37pm

Seems like the population likes that spot

If this male is, in fact, a Pimoa and is a mature adult, then this is a species other than the P.altioculata that Bug Guide is teeming with. I can tell you that based on the lack of a group of spines on the femurs. I don't know how comfortable you are with handling or collecting spiders, but in order to really get this one to species, you'll have to get a close-up of the ventral side of the palps (here's an example)... either that, or collect it and mail it to someone that can ID it. Maybe you can get lucky with some palp photos without doing either, though. Side and other partial views can help, too.

… Mandy Howe, 15 February, 2010 - 5:02pm

Onto something:-)

Either Pimoidae or Linyphiidae would be my guess, too. The distance between the front edge of the carapace and the anterior eye row is huge! That tends to rule out Theridiidae.

… Eric R. Eaton, 15 February, 2010 - 12:10pm

That space is called the clypeus

In case anyone was wondering. :)

… Mandy Howe, 15 February, 2010 - 12:19pm