Xysticus gallicus Simon, 1875
Description
Male
Male palp with median tegular apophysis with short compact shaft and 2 short branches. Lateral tegular apophysis horn-shaped, broad and robust. Tibial apophysis originates ventrally in the middle and has rounded edges. A further retrolateral apophysis is club-shaped in ventral view and narrowing toward tip. Embolus widened at the point where it is bent, tip twisted. Prosoma dark brown to brown-black, rarely brown. Female: partly brighter or with olive tinge, contrast-rich with cream V-shaped pattern. Eye field light brown to beige-brown or yellow-cream. Sternum light brown to beige-brown and darker on margin, densely long spined, partly also sparsely. Chelicerae with broad, transverse stripe, alternately brown and beige, frontally with one longer spine each and further finer spines. Legs long, dorsally dark brown, with brown and beige longitudinal stripes, can be broken into spots, ventrally brown to dark brown except femur, mostly with cream median line. Opisthosoma with distinct fir-tree-shaped, cream light brown pattern. Spinnerets dark brown and with fine white contour.
Body length male: 4.6-8.0 mmFemale
Epigyne with epigynal groove only closed anteriorly with characteristically slit-shaped fold, median septum slender and short, mostly widened anterior. Vulva with slender funnel-shaped entrance duct, that strongly widens posteriorly and finally passes over to transverse receptacula.
Body length female: 6.4-11.6 mmAdditional information
Occurring under stones from lowland up to alpine zone, also in pine forests or rocky heathland
Distribution
Phenology
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
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Figures
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Pesarini 2000)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Ledoux unpupl.)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Jantscher 2001a)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Jantscher 2001a)
Epigyne
(Pesarini 2000)
Epigyne
(Ledoux unpupl.)
Epigyne
(Ledoux unpupl.)
Epigyne
(Jantscher 2001a)
Epigyne
(Jantscher 2001a)
Epigyne
(Jantscher 2001a)
Epigyne
(Jantscher 2001a)
Epigyne
(Jantscher 2001a)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Jantscher 2001a)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Jantscher 2001a)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Jantscher 2001a)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Jantscher 2001a)
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.
References
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) 
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
Branco V V, Morano E, Cardoso P (2019) An update to the Iberian spider checklist (Araneae). Zootaxa 4614: 201-254
Danışman T, Kunt K B, Özkütük R S, Coşar İ (2025a) The checklist of the spiders of Turkey. Version 2025 [last updated 01 December 2025], online at http://www.spidersofturkey.info
Déjean S, Canard A (2024) Contribution à la connaissance des araignées (Araneae) de Corse. Revue Arachnologique (2) 11: 59-67
Esyunin S L, Efimik V E (1996a) Catalogue of the spiders (Arachnida, Aranei) of the Urals. KMK Scientific Press, Moscow, 228 pp.
Gajdoš P, Svatoň J, Sloboda J (1999) Katalóg pavúkov Slovenska. Catalogue of Slovakian spiders. Ústav kr. ekol. SAV, Bratislava, 337 pp.
Geci D, Naumova M, Ibrahimi H, Grapci-Kotori L, Gashi A, Bilalli A, Musliu M (2023) Contribution to spider fauna (Arachnida: Araneae) from Bjeshkët e Nemuna mountains (Kosovo). Natura Croatica 32: 525-547
Grbac I, Katušić L, Lukić M (2019) Catalogue of spiders (Araneae) deposited in the Croatian Natural History Museum. Natura Croatica 28: 185-269
Hirna A, Zhukovets E (2022) Catalogue of spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) of the Lviv oblast (Ukraine). National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Institute of Ecology of the Carpathians, Lviv, 311 pp.
Isaia M, Tolve M, Pantini P (2025) Araneae.it: 2.0: the new updated version of the digital catalog of the Italian spiders and other arachnids (Arachnida: Araneae, Opiliones, Scorpiones, Pseudoscorpiones, Palpigradi, Solifugae). Fragmenta Entomologica 57: 197-204
Jantscher E (2001a) Revision der Krabbenspinnengattung Xysticus C.L. Koch, 1835 (Araneae, Thomisidae) in Zentraleuropa. Dissertation, Univ. Graz, 328 pp., 81 pls.
Komnenov M (2014) Spider fauna of the Osogovo Mt. Range, Northeastern Macedonia. Fauna Balkana 2: 1-267
Kostanjšek R, Kuntner M (2015) Araneae Sloveniae: a national spider species checklist. ZooKeys 474: 1-91
Kůrka A, Naumova M, Indzhov S, Deltshev C (2020) New faunistic and taxonomic data on the spider fauna of Albania (Arachnida: Araneae). Arachnologische Mitteilungen 59: 8-21
Le Peru B (2007) Catalogue et répartition des araignées de France. Revue Arachnologique 16: 1-468
Ledoux J C (unpupl.)
Maurer R, Hänggi A (1990) Katalog der schweizerischen Spinnen. Documenta Faunistica Helvetiae 12
Naumova M, Lazarov S, Deltshev C (2019a) Faunistic diversity of the spiders in Montenegro (Arachnida: Araneae). Ecologica Montenegrina 22: 50-89
Otto S (2022) Caucasian spiders. A faunistic database on the spiders of the Caucasus Ecoregion. Database version 02.2022. Internet: caucasus-spiders.info.
Pesarini C (2000) Contributo alla conoscenza della fauna araneologica italiana (Araneae). Memorie della Società Entomologica Italiana 78: 379-393
Ponomarev A V (2022) Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of the southeast of the Russian Plain: catalogue, the fauna specific features. SSC RAS Publishers, Rostov-on-Don, 640 pp.
Rozwałka R, Stanska M (2008) Check-list of spiders (Araneae) of Poland. 1. December 2008. online at http://www.arachnologia.edu.pl/en/species/8-spiders-of-poland.html
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
Samu F, Szinetár C (1999) Bibliographic check list of the Hungarian spider fauna. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 11: 161-184
Schröder M, Chatzaki M, Buchholz S (2011) The spider fauna of the Aladjagiola wetland complex (Nestos Delta, north-east Greece): a reflection of a unique zoogeographical transition zone in Europe. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 102: 217-233
Thaler K, Knoflach B (2004b) Zur Faunistik der Spinnen (Araneae) von Österreich: Gnaphosidae, Thomisidae (Dionycha pro parte). Linzer Biologische Beiträge 36: 417-484
Vasiliev A I, Mikhailov K G (2023) Annotated checklist of spiders (Araneae) of the Republic of Moldova. Invertebrate Zoology 20: 307-342
Weiss I, Petrișor A (1999) List of the spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from Romania. Travaux du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle “Grigore Antipa” 41: 79-107
WSC (2026) World Spider Catalog. Version 27. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch (13.2.2026) doi: 10.24436/2
Zarikian N A, Kalashian M Y (2021) An annotated checklist of spiders deposited in the Arachnida collection of the Institute of Zoology, Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology of the NAS RA, Yerevan, Armenia. Part I. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 61: 11-19
Updates
| 11-11-2025 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 04-06-2025 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 09-01-2025 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 31-01-2024 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 31-01-2024 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 01-03-2021 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 29-04-2020 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 28-06-2019 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 07-03-2016 | Image insert | |
| 30-09-2015 | Distribution update | Detail |