''Oxyopes heterophthalmus'' is a lynx spider from the family

Oxyopidae Lynx spider (Oxyopidae) is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1870. Most species make little use of webs, instead spending their lives as hunting spiders on plants. Many species frequent flowers in particular, ...

, it is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the genus '' Oxyopes'' and was described by

Pierre André Latreille Pierre André Latreille (; 29 November 1762 – 6 February 1833) was a French zoologist, specialising in arthropods. Having trained as a Roman Catholic priest before the French Revolution, Latreille was imprisoned, and only regained his freedom ...

in 1804, it 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.

Description

The

palp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the second pair of appendages of chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicerae ("jaws") ...

s of the male have a dorsally directed patellar apophysis, which is nearly as long as male's palpal tibia. The

epigyne The epigyne or epigynum is the external genital structure of female spiders. As the epigyne varies greatly in form in different species, even in closely related ones, it often provides the most distinctive characteristic for recognizing species. ...

has a reddish-brown median part, and is broadly rounded anteriorly. The body colour is dark brown, with a whitish pattern on the dorsum. The legs are black, with bright hairs and strikingly robust spines. Both sexes are in length. Their abdomen is roughly triangular in shape and ends in a point.

Biology

''Oxyopes heterophthalmus'' is a long legged, diurnal hunting spider which is capable of running very fast and jumping on their prey in a similar fashion to a cat, leading to their common name of

lynx spider Lynx spider (Oxyopidae) is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1870. Most species make little use of webs, instead spending their lives as hunting spiders on plants. Many species frequent flowers in particular, ...

. They do not utilise webs to catch prey. Their eyesight is not as good as that of the

jumping spider Jumping spiders are a group of spiders that constitute the family (biology), family Salticidae. As of 2019, this family contained over 600 described genera and over 6,000 described species, making it the largest family of spiders at 13% of all sp ...

s but they can see their prey from a distance of up to . 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 ...

adults occur in late May and June. The female spins a cocoon which is attached to a plant, she guards this until the eggs hatch.

Habitat

''Oxyopes heterophthalmus'' is normally found in mature dry

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

. It has a preference for heather and other low shrubs.

Distribution

''Oxyopes heterophthalmus'' has a Palearctic distribution. In Europe it is found in Central and Southern Europe, and is more common to the south. In

it is confined to a few sites in southern England.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2247545 Spiders of Europe Palearctic spiders Oxyopidae Spiders described in 1804