Pholcidae  C. L. Koch, 1850 / Holocnemus  Simon, 1873   4 species

Holocnemus pluchei  (Scopoli, 1763)

Description
Male

Prosoma whitish, often with dark longitudinal band. Sternum black. Chelicerae with lateral stridulatory ridges. Legs: femur I with a prolateral series of 30 to 36 spines. Femur with dark spots, femur I and tibia I ventrally with numerous, short spines. Opisthosoma whitish, dorsally with vague spots, ventrally with black longitudinal band..

Body length male: 5-7 mm
Female

Palp light brownish, tarsus darker, tibia and tarsus widened. Colouration whitish, prosoma often with dark band, sternum black, with a strong tubercle between coxae IV. Eyes: AME less than one diameter apart. Opisthosoma dorsally with a median red-brown band, ventrally with a wide longitudinal dark band. Opisthosoma oval, without extension behind.

Body length female: 5-7.5 mm
Additional information

Under rocks, in warm terrain, in caves and basements, large webs with irregular meshes.

Since a few decades, this species shows some spreading tendencies within Europe. Nevertheless, it is not listed as alien or invasive, because it is native to Europe.

Troglophile species (Mammola et al. 2018b)

Distribution
  Presence
  No data
Global distribution (WSC 2024): Europe, North Africa, Turkey, Caucasus, Middle East. Introduced to USA, Argentina, Japan, Australia
Phenology
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
 male  female
Figures
Distribution List

"No references" does not mean that the species does not occur in this country, but that we have not yet inserted the reference for it. We are working on it.

Albania   (Huber, 2022) ||| Algeria   (Huber, 2022; Benhacene et al., 2023) ||| Andorra   (Branco et al., 2019) ||| Armenia   (Zarikian et al., 2022; Zarikian, 2022a) ||| Austria   (Huber, 2022) ||| Azerbaijan   (Ponomarev et al., 2019b) ||| Belgium   (Huber, 2022; Bosmans & Van Keer, 2017) ||| Bosnia and Herzegovina   (Huber, 2022) ||| Bulgaria   (Blagoev et al., 2018) ||| Croatia   (Huber, 2022) ||| Cyprus   (Bosmans et al., 2019c) ||| Czechia   (Řezáč et al., 2021; Růžička & Řezáč, 2022a) ||| Denmark   (Lissner & Scharff, 2019) ||| Egypt   (Huber, 2022) ||| France   (Huber, 2022) ||| France / Corsica   (no references) ||| Georgia   (Huber, 2022) ||| Germany   (Blick et al., 2016; Huber, 2022) ||| Greece   (Huber, 2022) ||| Greece / Crete   (Huber, 2022) ||| Hungary   (Kovács et al., 2006) ||| Italy   (Pantini & Isaia, 2019) ||| Italy / Sardinia   (Pantini & Isaia, 2019) ||| Italy / Sicily   (Pantini & Isaia, 2019) ||| Kosovo   (Geci & Naumova, 2021b) ||| Libya   (Huber, 2022) ||| Malta   (Pfliegler et al., 2017) ||| Montenegro   (Huber, 2022) ||| Morocco   (Huber, 2022) ||| Netherlands   (van Helsdingen, 2023a) ||| North Macedonia   (Huber, 2022; Komnenov, 2014) ||| Poland   (Rozwałka et al., 2017a) ||| Portugal   (Branco et al., 2019) ||| Romania   (no references) ||| Serbia   (Gajić & Grbić, 2016) ||| Slovakia   (no references) ||| Slovenia   (Kostanjšek & Kuntner, 2015) ||| Spain   (Branco et al., 2019) ||| Spain / Balearic Islands   (Branco et al., 2019; Barrientos & Febrer, 2017) ||| Switzerland   (no references) ||| Tunisia   (Huber, 2022) ||| Turkey (Asia)   (Danışman et al., 2024) ||| Turkey (Europe)   (Danışman et al., 2024) ||| Ukraine   (Nadolny, unpubl.) ||| United Kingdom   (Lavery, 2019) |||
References

Barrientos J A, Febrer B (2017) Arañas (Arachnida, Araneae) de Menorca (Islas Baleares, España). Nuevos datos. Revista Ibérica de Aracnología 31: 8-24 pdf

Benhacene R, Adjami A, Hadjeb A, Kermiche K, Ouakid M L (2023) Bibliographic checklist of the Algerian spider fauna (Araneae). Zootaxa 5352: 301-357 pdf

Benhadi-Marín J, Barrientos J A , Ferrández M A, Henriques S, Morano E (2013) Second annotated list of selected spider families (Arachnida: Araneae) held at the University of León (Spain). Revista Ibérica de Aracnología 22: 71-78 pdf

Blagoev G, Deltshev C, Lazarov S, Naumova M (2018) The spiders (Araneae) of Bulgaria. Version: August 2018. National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Online at http://www.nmnhs.com/spiders-bulgaria/ (accessed on 10.9.2018) pdf

Blick T, Finch O-D, Harms K H, Kiechle J, Kielhorn K-H , Kreuels M, Malten A, Martin D, Muster C, Nährig D, Platen R, Rödel I, Scheidler M, Staudt A, Stumpf H, Tolke D (2016) Rote Liste und Gesamtartenliste der Spinnen (Arachnida: Araneae) Deutschlands. 3. Fassung, Stand April 2008, einzelne Änderungen und Nachträge bis August 2015. Naturschutz und Biologische Vielfalt 70/4: 383-510 pdf

Bosmans R, Van Keer J, Russell-Smith A, Hadjiconstantis M, Komnenov M, Bosselaers J, Huber S, McCowan D, Snazell R, Decae A, Zoumides C, Kielhorn K-H, Oger P (2019c) Spiders of Cyprus (Araneae). A catalogue of all currently known species from Cyprus. Newsletter of the Belgian Arachnological Society 34, Suppl. 1: 1-173 pdf

Bosmans R, Van Keer K (2017) Een herziene soortenlijst van de Belgische spinnen (Araneae). Nieuwsbrief van de Belgische Arachnologische Vereniging 32: 39-69 pdf

Branco V V, Morano E, Cardoso P (2019) An update to the Iberian spider checklist (Araneae). Zootaxa 4614: 201-254 pdf

Danışman T, Kunt K B, Özkütük R S, Coşar İ (2024) The checklist of the spiders of Turkey. Version 2024 [last updated 01 January 2024], online at http://www.spidersofturkey.info pdf

Gajić I, Grbić G (2016) Further notes on spiders from the Special Nature Reserve Zasavica (Serbia). Arachnologische Mitteilungen 51: 49-56 pdf

Geci D, Naumova M (2021b) A preliminary checklist of the spiders of Kosovo (Arachnida: Araneae). Ecologia Balkanica, Special Edition 4: 11-28 pdf

Helsdingen P J van (2023a) Catalogus van de Nederlandse spinnen. Versie 2023.1. 247 pp. pdf

Huber B A (1995) Copulatory mechanism in Holocnemus pluchei and Pholcus opilionoides, with notes on male cheliceral apophyses and stridulatory organs in Pholcidae (Araneae). Acta Zoologica, Stockholm 76: 291-300 pdf

Huber B A (2022) Revisions of Holocnemus and Crossopriza: the spotted-leg clade of Smeringopinae (Araneae, Pholcidae). European Journal of Taxonomy 795: 1-241 pdf

Jäger P (2000a) Selten nachgewiesene Spinnenarten aus Deutschland (Arachnida: Araneae). Arachnologische Mitteilungen 19: 49-57 pdf

Komnenov M (2014) Spider fauna of the Osogovo Mt. Range, Northeastern Macedonia. Fauna Balkana 2: 1-267 pdf

Kostanjšek R, Kuntner M (2015) Araneae Sloveniae: a national spider species checklist. ZooKeys 474: 1-91 pdf

Kovács G, Szinetár C, Eichardt J (2006) Holocnemus pluchei (Scopoli, 1763) (Araneae: Pholcidae) in Hungary. Állattani Közlemények 91: 9-18 pdf

Lavery A (2019) A revised checklist of the spiders of Great Britain and Ireland. Arachnology 18: 196-212 pdf

Lissner J, Scharff N (2019) Danish Spiders. Formerly online at http://www.danmarks-edderkopper.dk pdf

Mammola S, Cardoso P, Ribera C, Pavlek M, Isaia M (2018b) A synthesis on cave-dwelling spiders in Europe. Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 56: 301-316 pdf

Nadolny A (unpubl.) .

Pantini P, Isaia M (2019) Araneae.it: the online catalog of Italian spiders, with addenda on other arachnid orders occurring in Italy (Arachnida: Araneae, Opiliones, Palpigradi, Pseudoscorpionida, Scorpiones, Solifugae). Fragmenta Entomologica 51: 127-152 pdf

Pesarini C (unpubl.)

Pfliegler W A, Schönhofer A, Niedbała W, Vella P, Sciberras A, Vella A (2017) New records of mites (Acari) and harvestmen (Opiliones) from Malta with a preliminary checklist of Maltese Arachnida. Soil Organisms 89: 85-110 pdf

Ponomarev A V, Snegovaya N Y, Shmatko V Y (2019b) Synaphosus shirin Ovtsharenko, Levi [sic] et Platnik [sic], 1994 (Gnaphosidae) and Holocnemus pluchei (Scopoli, 1763) (Pholcidae) – two new species of spiders (Aranei) in the fauna of the Caucasus. Caucasian Entomological Bulletin 15: 233-235 pdf

Řezáč M, Růžička V, Hula V, Dolanský J, Machač O, Roušar A (2021) Spiders newly observed in Czechia in recent years – overlooked or invasive species? BioInvasions Records 10: 555-566 pdf

Rozwałka R, Rutkowski T, Bielak-Bielecki P (2017a) New data on introduced and rare synanthropic spider species (Arachnida: Araneae) in Poland (II). Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska, Lublin-Polonia 71: 59-85 pdf

Růžička V, Řezáč M (2022a) Seznam pavouků České republiky. List of spiders of the Czech Republic. Online at https://www.arachnology.cz/seznam-pavouku-cr-26.html and https://www.arachnology.cz/en/seznam-pavouku-cr-26.html pdf

Taberlet J-P (unpubl.)

WSC (2024) World Spider Catalog. Version 25.0. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch (22.01.2024) doi: 10.24436/2 pdf

Zarikian N A (2022a) New records of Araneae from Armenia. Indian Journal of Entomology 84: 757-760 pdf

Zarikian N A, Propistsova E A, Marusik Y M (2022) On spider families (Arachnida: Araneae) new to Armenia. Israel Journal of Entomology 51: 103-117 pdf

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