Haplodrassus minor (O. P.-Cambridge, 1879)

Kovblyuk, Mykola M., Kastrygina, Zoya A. & Omelko, Mikhail M., 2012, A review of the spider genus Haplodrassus Chamberlin, 1922 in Crimea (Ukraine) and adjacent areas (Araneae, Gnaphosidae), ZooKeys 205, pp. 59-89 : 66

Haplodrassus minor (O. P.-Cambridge, 1879) Figs 43 –4952– 65

Haplodrassus minor : Miller and Buchar 1977: 170, pl. IV, f. 4-6 (♂).

Haplodrassus minor : Grimm 1985: 144, f. 176-178 (♂♀).

Haplodrassus minor : Roberts 1985: 66, f. 24c (♂♀).

Haplodrassus minor : Tuneva and Esyunin 2003: 232, f. 27-33 (♂♀). For a complete list of references see Platnick (2012).

Records from Crimea.

Kovblyuk (2006).

Material.

Ukraine. CRIMEA. Lenino Distr.: 1 ♀ (EMZ), Kerch peninsula, NW coast of Aktash lake, 8.06.1999, M.M. Kovblyuk. Saki Distr.: 5 ♂♂ (TNU), near Pribrezhnaya railway station, 9.05.-3.07.2000, M.M. Kovblyuk. Simferopol Distr.: 1 ♂ (TNU), Kirpichnoe Vill., 31.05.-12.06.1997, M.M. Kovblyuk; 18 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀ (YMC, TNU), Skvortsovo Vill., 27.04.-10.07.2002, M.M. Kovblyuk. Sovietsky Distr.: 1 ♂ (TNU), Uvarovka Vill., 28.04.1999, M.M. Kovblyuk. Yalta Distr.: 1 ♂ (TNU), Yalta, Nikita Vill., 13-30.05.2000, M.M. Kovblyuk.

Additional material.

UKRAINE. Donetsk Area: 1 ♂ (TNU), Slavyansk Distr., Dronovka Vil., 4-8.07.2002, E.V. Prokopenko; 1 ♂, 1 ♀ (TNU), Volodarsky Distr., Nazarovka Vil., "Kamennye Mogily" Nature Reserve, N47°20', E37°06', 20.06.1983, N.Yu. Polchaninova. Nikolaev Area: 1 ♂, 1 ♀ (TNU), Ochakov Distr., Pokrovka Vil., 'Volyzhin Les’ Department of the Chernomorsky Nature Reserve, 21.05.1987, N.Yu. Polchaninova; 2 ♂♂ (TNU), Pervomaysky Distr., Kuripchane Vil., 6.05.-8.06.2006, N.Yu. Polchaninova. Drawings from these specimens - see in Figs 43-45, 52-53. RUSSIA. Orenburg Area: 5 ♂♂ (TNU), Kuvandyk Distr., Aituar Vill., 22.05.1996, 5.07.2002, N.S. Mazura, T.K. Tuneva; 4 ♂♂, 1 ♀ (TNU), Sol-Iletsk Distr., Chybynda, 5-12.06.2000, S.L. Esyunin. POLAND. 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀ (TNU), "Krusne hoty a Polsko, 2001-2002, leg. Prof. E. Kula".

Comparative material.

Haplodrassus deserticola Schmidt & Krause, 1996 from the Canary Islands: 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀ (TNU), leg. et det. J. Wunderlich.

Diagnosis.

This species is most similar to Haplodrassus deserticola from the Canary Islands (Figs 40-42, 50-51). Haplodrassus deserticola differs from Haplodrassus minor by having a dorsal abdominal pattern (Fig. 66). Haplodrassus minor and Haplodrassus deserticola also differ by the shape of the embolus (thick in Haplodrassus minor , andthin in Haplodrassus deserticola ), terminal apophysis (thick in Haplodrassus minor , and thin in Haplodrassus deserticola ), median apophysis (short in Haplodrassus minor , and long in Haplodrassus deserticola ), epigyne and spermathecae.

Variations.

Haplodrassus minor ishighly variable in body size and also in the shape of the bulbal apophyses, RTA (slightly indented or not indented) and the epigyne (Figs 43-65). It is interesting to note that the width of the terminal apophysis decreases with increasing longitude (i.e. from west to east) (cf. Figs 44, 47, 49, 57, 63).

Distribution.

The species has a European range and is known from Portugal to Ural, north to Wales and south to Crete (Tuneva, Esyunin 2003; Helsdingen 2010; Platnick 2012).

Habitats.

Steppes, meadows, forest strips (=shelterbelts) within steppes.

Phenology.

In Crimea ♂♀ - V-VI, ♂♂ - IV, ♀♀ - VII, the peak of activity in adults occurs in May. In Britain ♂♀ - IV-VI, with the peak in June ( Harvey et al. 2002), a month later than in Crimea.