Family Liocranidae Simon, 1897

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1

Posterior eye row strongly recurved, feathery (branched) hairs absent; almost unicoloured brown spiders without distinct marking of the body; male opisthosoma ventrally with short bristles

Apostenus

-

Posterior eye row slightly procurved to slightly recurved, feathery (branched) hairs usually present at least on the basal leg articles

  2  

2
(1)

Body length 2.0 – 3.5 mm; distance between the posterior median eyes wider than to the lateral eyes

Scotina

-

Body length 3.5 – 12 mm; eyes of the posterior row equidistant

  3  

3
(2)

Tarsi with dense spatulate claw tufts; tarsi and metatarsi with dense scopulae

Sagana

-

Claw tufts absent or quite indistinct; tarsal and metatarsal scopulae absent

  4  

4
(3)

Sclerotized praecoxal triangles present, most distinct on III-IV, median female spinnerets more or less compressed

  5  

-

Praecoxal triangles absent, median female spinnerets not compressed

  6  

5
(4)

Tibia I usually with 4-11 pairs of ventral bristles; female median spinnerets strongly laterally flattened; epigyne as figure

 

Liocranum

-

Tibia I usually with 2 pairs of ventral bristles; female median spinnerets not or only slightly flattened; epigyne as figure

Mesiotelus

6
(4)

Metatarsi I-II usually with 3 (rarely 2) pairs of ventral bristles; the male opisthosoma of certain species bears ventral bristles or spines similar to most Apostenus species, tegulum with longitudinal folds; median apophysis with a long and slender distal half whose tip points medially; epigyne with a pair of strongly sclerotized introductory openings and a large v-shaped medial field

Agroeca

-

Metatarsi I-II usually with 2 (rarely 3) pairs of ventral bristles; ventral spines or bristles at the male opisthosoma absent; tegulum without folds; median apophysis and epigyne different

  7  

7
(6)

Median apophysis very long, bulbus with an additional long and thin tegular apophysis; epigyne with a medium septum, without helm-shaped anterior structure

Agraecina

-

Median apophysis stout, additional spine-shaped tegular apophysis absent, epigyne with a shallow median furrow and an anterior helm-shaped structure

Liocranoeca

With kind permission of the author, this key has been modified from Wunderlich J (2011) On European spiders of the nominal families Liocranidae, Miturgidae and Zoridae (Araneae), with descriptions of new taxa. Beitr Araneol 6: 108-120 (Publishing House Joerg Wunderlich)

Further genera