''Trachyzelotes pedestris'', The yellow-legged zipper spider, is a species of ''

Trachyzelotes ''Trachyzelotes'' is a genus of Gnaphosidae, ground spiders that was first described by H. Lohmander in 1944 as a subgenus of ''Zelotes'', and was raised to genus status in 1967. It has a body length of . Species it contains twenty-two species: ...

'' ground spider first described by C.L.Koch in 1837.

Description

Embolus pointing in longitudinal direction of palpal. Epigyne with distinct median plate. Prosoma dark rust brown to brown-black. Chelicerae frontally densely provided with spines. Legs light yellow to orange. Femur darker. Opisthosoma male: with dark brown scuticula. Body length male: 4.5-6 mm Body length female: 6.6-9.4 mm

Range

In Britain, this species is confined to southern Britain south of a line from Norfolk to Herefordshire. It is widespread in western and central Europe as far north as Sweden, and as far South as Czech Republic. ''Trachyzelotes pedestris'' can be found in the following European countries: Austria, Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine.

Habitat and distribution

''Trachyzelotes pedestris'' usually occurs in chalk and limestone grassland, often under stones in fairly open habitat. In Essex it occurs on dry south-facing grasslands, landslip areas and at the base of sea walls. It has occasionally been found in open sandy areas on

Breckland Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a la ...

heaths. P. Merrett notes an occurrence in his kitchen sink! (limestone grassland nearby). Egg-sacs are deposited under stones. Adults of both sexes have been recorded between May and August, mainly in June.

References

Spiders described in 1837 Spiders of Europe Gnaphosidae {{Gnaphosidae-stub