Explanation of Names
Author of name: Eugène Simon. First year published: 1875.
Numbers
There are 7 species in BugGuide's range (North America north of Mexico).
Identification
It appears (from descriptions and verified specimens in the guide) that the abdomens of some species have the paired black spots and some do not. Some have paired longitudinal stripes on either side of the main mid stripe, some don't...
T. asiaticus: with paired black spots on the back third of abdomen; without pairs of longitudinal lateral stripes on either side of the mid stripe.
T. californicus: (need more info; Schick didn't include a physical description of the body in his revision)
T. chamberlini: with paired black spots on the back third of abdomen; with pairs of longitudinal lateral stripes on either side of the mid stripe.
T. duttoni: with one or two pairs of black spots on the back third of abdomen; with pairs of longitudinal lateral stripes on either side of the mid stripe.
T. maritimus: without paired black spots on abdomen; with pairs of longitudinal lateral stripes on either side of the mid stripe.
T. oblongus: with one or two pairs of black spots on the back third of abdomen; with pairs of longitudinal lateral stripes on either side of the mid stripe.
T. rothi: (need more info; Schick didn't include a physical description of the body in his revision)
Range
T. asiaticus: Alaska to Ontario, southward to Utah.
(1)
T. californicus: southern third of California (only males are currently known).
(2)
T. chamberlini: British Columbia southward to California and Arizona.
(2)
T. duttoni: eastern USA, Manitoba, & Mexico.
(1)+
(3)
T. maritimus: Alaska to Newfoundland, southward to Utah and New England (also Europe & Asia).
(1)
T. oblongus: Alaska to Nova Scotia, southward to Mexico (also Europe, Asia, & North Africa).
(1)
T. rothi: California & Arizona.
(2) Remarks
"Fortunately, there are only two species listed for Quebec in the 2010 Canada spider species list, T. oblongus and T. maritimus. In Alberta the species can be separated by a pair of black dots on the posterior dorsal part of the abdomen. T. oblongus has the dots, while T. maritimus does not. Dondale and Redner (1978) use the absence of dots as a diagnostic feature to separate T. maritimus from all of the other Canadian species in their Tibellus species key, so this should apply to T. oblongus and T. maritimus in Quebec."
… John Sloan, 20 September, 2011 - 8:37pm
