Pardosa valens?

It seems worth getting ventral views of the lapidicina species group as the presumed sura has a dark sternum with a much pale outer ring. This refers to the exoskeleton colors as the entire sternum is covered with pale hairs. P. valens appears to have black femora ventrally with a small section of yellow near the distal end and a narrow black ring at the distal end. This is true for both sexes. Males above are black above with most of the carapace bare. The abdomen and edges of the carapace are covered with pale hairs. The female is brown above with a typical pattern faintly visible. Because of the more extensive black on the fermora exoskeleton, the most noticeable leg banding is on the tibia and none on the femur. Also, the top of the trochanter is entirely black. P. mercurialis and vadosa are lighter, and I haven't figured out how to tell them apart consistently. They appear to be easy to differentiate from the other Texas species.

The real test of these P. valens field criteria will be to see if spiders in other parts of their range have the same characteristics. Unfortunately, there just aren't enough observations yet, especially those with ventral views.

Posted on 10 April, 2022 20:08 by eaneubauer