Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Photo#609851
tiny band-legged crevice weaver - Filistatinella - female

tiny band-legged crevice weaver - Filistatinella - Female
Manchaca, Travis County, Texas, USA
January 27, 2012
Size: about 3 mm
This must be Filistatinella crassipalpis, since it looks like a filistatid but has the wrong markings (and is very tiny). It matches a couple of descriptions I found in references, especially the banded legs, shape of carapace, colors, and white hairs on carapace. It was found low on an outside wall during a cool morning and didn't seem to mind my camera getting close for pictures. The reflection is from a little flashlight I use to help get more light, since my camera's flash no longer works. Thanks to Joe Lapp for confirming that I was looking in the correct family.

Images of this individual: tag all
tiny band-legged crevice weaver - Filistatinella - female tiny band-legged crevice weaver - Filistatinella - female

Moved
Moved from Crevice Weavers. It sounds like everyone is pretty sure about this. I tried to find a drawing or photo reference but couldn't. I filled out the genus page with all the info I could find & moved the images here based on the other undescribed species mentioned in one of the references.

 
Update on ID for this one
I just read a PDF of a revision of Filistatinella by Magalhaes & Ramirez, 2017. They have named the central TX species F. howdyall, so that is what this must be. The habitus images of all the species look pretty much the same so location will be the best clue to identifications of average photos.

 
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I think you could even move it to species, because as far as I know (I skimmed the material pretty quickly) there is (so far?) only the one species present in the States .

 
I'm not sure
SONA says there are 4 undescribed species that range into central CA. We have a similar issue with Aculepeira where Rod has actually shown me one of these undescribed species. Without his guidance I would have stuck it in A. packardi.

Since I have no way of knowing what those undescribed species look like I don't know how I could be certain of placement on this one. Maybe I'm being too nitpicky?

here's the Aculepeira...

 
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Oh, okay; I missed that. Makes sense then to perhaps first wait.

Thanks for the thanks!
That was sweet for you to thank me for having the same thoughts as you. I'd be curious to hear whether you ever confirm the species. I've never seen anything like it.

Kevin, Val lives only a few miles from me, and everyone relies on her for IDs. And I'm still pulling Mecaphesa out of ashe juniper!

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Looks good to me. Hope you can get a new flash some day.

-K

(Easy to become jealous, seeing photos taken in January.)