''Cryphoeca silvicola'' is a small species of dwarf sheet spider in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Cybaeidae Cybaeidae is a family of spiders first described by Nathan Banks in 1892. The diving bell spider or water spider ''Argyroneta aquatica'' was previously included in this family, but is now in the family Dictynidae. Genera , the World Spider Cata ...

which has a

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

distribution. The generic name, ''Cryphoeca'', means hidden and the specific name ''silvicola'' means "living in the woods".

Description

The males are between 2.5 and 3.5 mm in length and the females 2.5-3.9 mm in length. The apophysis on the ventral surface of the tibia is tripartite. The

prosoma The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

is yellow-brown, with a black margin and black radial and median stripes, contrastingly patterned. The legs are yellowish, annulated with black. The

opisthosoma The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma (cephalothorax). It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata (arachnids, horseshoe crabs and others). Although it is similar in most respects to a ...

varies from grey-brown to black, with a bright serrated dorsal median stripe, although on a few rare individuals it is bright with only an ill-defined pattern.

Distribution

''Cryphoeca sylvicola'' has a

distribution. and is found throughout much of Europe, but is absent from

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

and is unrecorded in Portugal. In

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

it is widespread in western and northern parts of the island Britain, but is largely absent from the south-east.

Habitat and ecology

The species is found in the litter layer of coniferous forests, from lowland regions up to low mountain ranges. In Great Britain ''Cryphoeca sylvicola'' also inhabits higher ground where it may be found under stones on the moors. However, it is found in its greatest numbers hiding under the bark on the trunks of trees. When strips of corrugated cardboard were placed around the trunks of trees on

Inchcailloch Inchcailloch ( gd, Innis na Cailleach) is an islet on Loch Lomond in Scotland. It is at its highest point. It is also known to some as Inchebroida. The name Inchcailloch means "Isle of the old woman" or "Isle of the Cowled (Hooded) Woman" in ...

Island in

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...

during the winter months of 1971-72 to sample tree-trunk spiders, ''Cryphoeca silvicola'' was the dominant species among those spiders caught. In Finland it was found to form 4.8% of the total biomass of organisms sampled from tree trunks, making it potentially an important prey for breeding

common treecreeper The Eurasian treecreeper or common treecreeper (''Certhia familiaris'') is a small passerine bird also known in the British Isles, where it is the only living member of its genus, simply as treecreeper. It is similar to other treecreepers, and ha ...

s ''Certhia famliaris''. In Britain adult ''Cryphoeca sylvicola'' have been recorded as being active in all months of the year with peaks in the spring and early summer and in the autumn.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3197696 Spiders of Europe silvicola Palearctic spiders Spiders described in 1834