Male with parasite(?) on carapace in/under integument - Castianeira trilineata

trilineata vs. gertschi

I was wondering if that third white line (most posterior one) on the abdomen is interrupted in the middle where that glare is? I was just trying to get better with Castianeira (been doing lots of reading) and if that line has a small missing section at the midline, this might be C. gertschi instead. I bet you ID'd him from genitalia, though? In that case, ignore this comment. :-P

It's weird, in (1), the diagram on page 110 doesn't match the written description of the interrupted line... but the drawing in (2) matches the description perfectly and looks just like this specimen of yours (if that glare is obscuring the small missing section of white).

… Mandy Howe, 11 July, 2011 - 11:42am

I did check the palp (althoug

I did check the palp (although I don't seem to have a photo handy); there's also this specimen:

Do you have the Breen et al. paper as PDF? I wouldn't mind having a copy.

-K

… Kevin Pfeiffer, 11 July, 2011 - 1:30pm

I guess it's just the extra white line that's throwing me off, but maybe there's variation. It's weird that it's called trilineata, but the description says only two white bands (unless I'm misreading or misinterpreting it, which could easily be the case).

The Breene (et al) book is one I bought from a used book dealer. I wasn't able to find it anywhere as a PDF. Looks like a seller thru Amazon has another one (same guy I bought mine from): http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004V72TUM/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&redirect=true&condition=all. There are a couple more copies available thru AbeBooks, as well: http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?tn=Biology,+predation+ecology,+significance+spiders+Texas+cotton+ecosystems+key+species. On the back of the book, it says only 2,500 copies were printed. The only thing I don't like about it is that there's no index... so the only way to find the species in question in the key is to either flip thru the whole book until you find it, or check what pages on the WSC (which I guess isn't too tough). It's written as one master key to species in Texas cotton plants (not divided into families or anything, but they do clump together once you find the right section; i.e. all lycosids right next to each other).

If I knew how to, or had the means, I would try and make it a PDF, but I have no idea how (or if I would get in trouble from the publisher).

The other specimen in the thumbnail link fits all the descriptions and diagrams perfectly and it does look just like this one, except for that confusing extra stripe. I don't have any hands-on experience with many Castianeira, though... (so could be sorely mistaken for even bringing this up).

… Mandy Howe, 11 July, 2011 - 1:56pm