Linyphiidae  Blackwall, 1859 / Thyreosthenius  Simon, 1884   2 species

Thyreosthenius biovatus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1875)

Description
Male

Male palp with 2 ± equally long tibial apophyses.
Prosoma yellow-brown, male: with very high bipartite spheroidal cephalic lobe. Legs yellow-orange. Opisthosoma light grey.

Body length male: 1.6-1.9 mm
Female

Epigyne ± quadrangular, reaching beyond epigastric furrow. 

Body length female: 1.8-2.2 mm
Additional information

living together with ants

Character states from linyphiid key
Distribution
  Presence
  No data
Global distribution (WSC 2026): Europe, Russia (Europe to Far North East)
Phenology
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
 male  female
Figures
Distribution List
Austria   (Thaler, 1999b) ||| Belgium   (Bosmans & Van Keer, 2017) ||| Bulgaria   (Blagoev et al., 2018) ||| Czechia   (Růžička & Řezáč, 2022a) ||| Denmark   (Scharff & Gudik-Sørensen, 2006) ||| Estonia   (Vilbaste, 1987) ||| Finland   (Koponen et al., 2016) ||| France   (Le Peru, 2007) ||| Germany   (Blick et al., 2016) ||| Hungary   (Samu & Szinetár, 1999) ||| Ireland   (Lavery, 2019) ||| Italy   (Ballini et al., 2015) ||| Latvia   (Cera, 2018) ||| Liechtenstein   (Arnold, 2001) ||| Netherlands   (van Helsdingen, 2025a) ||| Norway   (Aakra & Hauge, 2003) ||| Poland   (Rozwałka & Stanska, 2008) ||| Russia, Eastern   (Esyunin & Efimik, 1996a) ||| Slovakia   (Gajdoš et al., 1999) ||| Slovenia   (Bračko & Kostanjšek, 2024) ||| Spain   (Castellucci et al., 2023) ||| Sweden   (Kronestedt, 2001) ||| Switzerland   (Maurer & Hänggi, 1990) ||| Ukraine   (Mikhailov, 2013) ||| United Kingdom   (Lavery, 2019) |||
References

Aakra K, Hauge E (2003) Checklist of Norwegian spiders (Arachnida: Araneae), including Svalbard and Jan Mayen. Norwegian Journal of Entomology 50: 109-129 pdf

Arnold K (2001) Beitrag zur Spinnenfauna (Arachnida, Araneae) des Fürstentums Liechtenstein. Berichte der Botanisch-Zoologischen Gesellschaft Liechtenstein-Sargans-Werdenberg 28: 211-244 pdf

Ballini S, Stauder F, Steinberger K-H (2015) Webspinnen (Arachnida: Araneae). In: Schatz H & Wilhalm T (Eds). Tag der Artenvielfalt 2014 in St. Felix (Gemeinde Unsere Liebe Frau im Walde St. Felix, Südtirol, Italien). Gredleriana 15: 168-171 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 K (2017) Een herziene soortenlijst van de Belgische spinnen (Araneae). Nieuwsbrief van de Belgische Arachnologische Vereniging 32: 39-69 pdf

Bračko G, Kostanjšek R (2024) First records of the myrmecophilous spider Thyreosthenius biovatus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1875) for Slovenia and new Slovenian records for the myrmecophilous spider Mastigusa arietina (Thorell, 1871). Natura Sloveniae 26: 17-28 pdf

Castellucci F, Schifani E, García F, Luchetti A, Scharff N (2023) First record of the genus Thyreosthenius (Araneae: Linyphiidae) from the Iberian Peninsula with notes on the host preference of the myrmecophilic T. biovatus. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 65: 27-30 pdf

Cera I (2018) The checklist of Latvian spiders (Arachnida: Araneae). Environmental and Experimental Biology 16: 139-152 pdf

Esyunin S L, Efimik V E (1996a) Catalogue of the spiders (Arachnida, Aranei) of the Urals. KMK Scientific Press, Moscow, 228 pp. pdf

Gajdoš P, Svatoň J, Sloboda J (1999) Katalóg pavúkov Slovenska. Catalogue of Slovakian spiders. Ústav kr. ekol. SAV, Bratislava, 337 pp.

Helsdingen P J van (2025a) Catalogus van de Nederlandse spinnen. Versie 2025.1. 249 pp. pdf

Koponen S, Fritzén N R, Pajunen T (2016) Checklist of spiders in Finland (Araneae). 6th version, December 2016, online at http://biolcoll.utu.fi/arach/checklist_of_spiders_in_Finland.htm pdf

Kronestedt T (2001) Checklist of Spiders (Araneae) in Sweden [Preliminary version February 2001] pdf

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

Le Peru B (2007) Catalogue et répartition des araignées de France. Revue Arachnologique 16: 1-468 pdf

Locket G H, Millidge A F (1953) British spiders. Vol. II. Ray Society, London, 449 pp. pdf

Løvbrekke H (unpubl.)

Maurer R, Hänggi A (1990) Katalog der schweizerischen Spinnen. Documenta Faunistica Helvetiae 12 pdf

Mikhailov K G (2013) The spiders (Arachnida: Aranei) of Russia and adjacent countries: a non-annotated checklist. Arthropoda Selecta, Supplement 3: 1-262 pdf

Roberts M J (1987) The spiders of Great Britain and Ireland. Volume 2: Linyphiidae and checklist. Harley Books Colchester, England, 204 pp. pdf

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 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

Samu F, Szinetár C (1999) Bibliographic check list of the Hungarian spider fauna. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 11: 161-184 pdf

Scharff N, Gudik-Sørensen O (2006) Katalog over Danmarks edderkopper (Araneae). Catalogue of the spiders of Denmark (Araneae). Entomologiske Meddelelser 74: 3-71 pdf

Thaler K (1999b) Beiträge zur Spinnenfauna von Nordtirol - 6. Linyphiidae 2: Erigoninae (sensu Wiehle) (Arachnida: Araneida). Veröffentlichungen des Tiroler Landesmuseums Ferdinandeum 79: 215-264 pdf

Vilbaste A (1987) Eesti Ämblikud (Aranei). Annoteeritud nimestik. Estonian spiders (Aranei). An annotated check list. Valgus, Tallinn. 113 pp. & 512 maps on 67 unpag. pages pdf

Wiehle H (1960a) Spinnentiere oder Arachnoidea (Araneae). XI. Micryphantidae-Zwergspinnen. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands 47: 1-620 pdf

WSC (2026) World Spider Catalog. Version 27. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch (20.5.2026) doi: 10.24436/2 pdf

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