Helsdingenia is a genus of dwarf spiders that was first described by Michael I. Saaristo & A. V. Tanasevitch in 2003.[2] The name is a reference to Dr. P. J van Helsdingen.[3]
| Helsdingenia | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Linyphiidae |
| Genus: | Helsdingenia Saaristo & Tanasevitch, 2003[1] |
| Type species | |
| H. ceylonica (van Helsdingen, 1985)
| |
| Species | |
|
4, see text | |
They are usually pale colored spiders that grow up to 2.45 millimetres (0.096 in) long. Males are smaller than females, but females are distinguishable by their finger-like extensions in epigyne.[3] There are four pairs of dark spots in an abdominal pattern that are connected to each other, creating two parallel stripes.
Species edit
As of May 2019[update] it contains four species, found in Cameroon, Comoros, Indonesia, on Madagascar, Nepal, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka:[1]
- Helsdingenia ceylonica (van Helsdingen, 1985) (type) – Nepal, Sri Lanka
- Helsdingenia extensa (Locket, 1968) – St. Helena, Africa, Madagascar, Comoros
- Helsdingenia hebes (Locket & Russell-Smith, 1980) – Nigeria, Cameroon
- Helsdingenia hebesoides Saaristo & Tanasevitch, 2003 – Indonesia (Sumatra)
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b "Gen. Helsdingenia Saaristo & Tanasevitch, 2003". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. 2019. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
- ^ Saaristo, M. I.; Tanasevitch, A. V. (2003). "Helsdingenia gen.n., a new micronetid genus from Old-World tropics (Aranei: Linyphiidae: Micronetinae)". Arthropoda Selecta. 11: 153–158.
- ^ a b "Helsdingenia gen.n., a new micronetid from Old World Tropics" (PDF). Arthropoda Selecta. Retrieved 2016-05-06.