Hamadruas hieroglyphica

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Hieroglyph Fairy Lynx Spider
Hamadruas hieroglyphica 341061197.jpg
female from Thailand
Hamadruas hieroglyphica 459425359.jpg
male from India
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Oxyopidae
Genus: Hamadruas
Species:
H. hieroglyphica
Binomial name
Hamadruas hieroglyphica
(Thorell, 1887)
Synonyms
  • Oxyopes hieroglyphicusThorell, 1887
  • Tapponia insulanaThorell, 1891
  • Tapponia hieroglyphicaThorell, 1895
  • Hamadruas insulanaDeeleman-Reinhold, 2009

Hamadruas hieroglyphica is a species of lynx spider in the family Oxyopidae. It was originally described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1887 as Oxyopes hieroglyphicus. [1]

Contents

Taxonomy

The species was first described by Thorell in 1887 from specimens collected in Myanmar (then Burma). [2] The male was first described by Deeleman-Reinhold in 2009, who also transferred the species to the genus Hamadruas . [3]

The species name hieroglyphica derives from the Greek words meaning "sacred carving," likely referring to the distinctive markings on the spider's body that resemble hieroglyphic symbols.

Distribution

H. hieroglyphica is distributed across South and Southeast Asia, with confirmed records from India, Myanmar, China, and Taiwan. [1] The species was newly recorded from Taiwan in 2024. [4]

Description

Hamadruas hieroglyphica is a medium-sized lynx spider with pronounced sexual dimorphism in both size and coloration. [4]

Female

Female total body length is about 13-15 mm. The carapace is yellowish brown with a black eye region and dense radiating stripes. The abdomen is long and oval-shaped, yellowish brown in color with indistinct cardiac markings, scattered dark spots and lines, and five to six pairs of conspicuous pale spots. The legs are yellowish and clothed with many long spines, with the femora bearing distinctive black stripes. [4]

The female epigyne features a large central depression with a sclerotized circle-shaped posterior edge. The spermathecae are round and visible through the cuticle, while the copulatory ducts are curved and the fertilization ducts are long and slender. [4]

Male

Males are considerably smaller than females, measuring 7-8 mm in total length. While similar in overall body shape and pattern to females, males display brighter white spots on the dorsal carapace and abdomen, and the dorsal abdomen appears dark green. The cymbium and tibia of the pedipalps are black. [4]

The male palp is distinctive, with a column-shaped ventral retrolateral tibial apophysis and a larger, chunk-shaped dorsal retrolateral tibial apophysis. [4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Hamadruas hieroglyphica (Thorell, 1887)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  2. ↑ Thorell, T. (1887). "Viaggio di L. Fea in Birmania e regioni vicine. II. Primo saggio sui ragni birmani". Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova. 25: 5–417.
  3. ↑ Deeleman-Reinhold, C. L. (2009). "Description of the lynx spiders of a canopy fogging project in northern Borneo (Araneae: Oxyopidae), with description of a new genus and six new species of Hamataliwa". Zoologische Mededelingen. 83 (17): 673–700.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lo, Y. Y.; Cheng, R. C.; Lin, C. P. (2024). "Integrative species delimitation and five new species of lynx spiders (Araneae, Oxyopidae) in Taiwan". PLOS ONE. 19 (5) e0301776. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301776 . PMC   11081396 . PMID   38722906.
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