Sihala ceylonicus

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Sihala ceylonicus
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Pholcidae
Genus: Sihala
Species:
S. ceylonicus
Binomial name
Sihala ceylonicus
(O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869)

Sihala ceylonicus, is a species of spider of the genus Sihala . It is known to be endemic to Sri Lanka, some suggest its presence in Malaysia as well. [1]

Contents

Taxonomy

Even though the generic name was changed to Sihala, most of the local universities and websites still use the name Pholcus ceylonicus in their research papers. [2] [3]

Biology

It is a large eight-eyed cellar spider, easily distinguished from the shapes of procursus, bulb, male palpal trochanter apophysis, and epigynum. Male is about 7.3 mm in length, while female is somewhat larger than the male. Female's lateral spinnerets consists with about six cylindrically shaped spigots. [4]

See also

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Belisana ratnapura is a species of spider of the genus Belisana. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.

The name Sihala is used in following articles.

Sihala is a genus of cellar spiders in the family Pholcidae, containing two species. The two species were once classified in the genus Pholcus, but were moved due to the absence of the characteristic sclerites shown in the bulb, and the unusually small and simple procursus.

Pholcus fragillimus, is a species of spider of the genus Pholcus. It is distributed from Sri Lanka, India to Japan. The type material of Pholcus fragillimus has probably been destroyed in Stuttgart during the Second World War, and only one female is available now in museums.

Tissahamia ethagala is a species of spider in the family Pholcidae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.

Tissahamia maturata is a species of spider in the family Pholcidae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.

Wanniyala agrabopath, is a species of spider of the genus Wanniyala. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. The species was described with a male found from Agrabopath Forest, Agrapatana, hence the specific name.

Wanniyala hakgala is a species of spider of the genus Wanniyala. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. The species was described with a male found from Hakgala area, hence the specific name.

Wanniyala is a genus of cellar spiders native to Sri Lanka, first described by Huber & Benjamin in 2005. They have six eyes and four pair of legs and grow up to 2 mm in length. The abdomen is globular and males have a distinctive distal hinged sclerite on the procursus of genitalia. The name is derived from the Sri Lankans native to the island that the first spiders were found on- the Vedda people- and their surname Wanniyala-Aetto.

References

  1. "Sihala ceylonicus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  2. "Pholcus and its relatives". Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  3. "Revision and Cladistic Analysis of Pholcus and Closely Related Taxa (Araneae, Pholcidae)". Bonner Zoologische Monographien Volume: 58. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  4. "The pholcid spiders from Sri Lanka: redescription of Pholcus ceylonicus and description of a new genus" (PDF). Journal of Natural History. Retrieved 4 May 2016.