Hylyphantes graminicola Sundevall 1830

Hylyphantes graminicola (Sundevall, 1830)

Figs 24, 25

Hylyphantes birmanica Thorell, 1895 new synonymy.

Types. Erigone birmanica Thorell, 1895, ♂ lectotype, 8♂ paralectotypes, BMNH, 1971/51; 38 ♀ paralectotypes, BMNH, 1971/52, all from BURMA, Tharrawaddy (examined).

Additional material examined (ZMMU). RUSSIA, 3♂, 2♀, Tyumen Area, env. of Tobolsk Field Research Station, 19.IX.–3.X.2003, leg. A. Ryvkin. ♂, 2♀, Amurskaya Area, Selemdzhinsky Distr., near Norsk, 5.IX.2004, leg. A. Ryvkin. 4♂, 2♀, Norskiy Nature Reserve, env. of Burunda cordon, 25.IX.2004, leg. A. Ryvkin. 2♂, 3♀, Maritime Prov., Chernigovka District, near Dmitriyevka Village, 16.VII.1990, leg. A. Tanasevitch. 2♂, LAOS, Luang Nam Tha Prov., Muong Sing, 21°11.422'N 101°09.450'E, 639 m a.s.l., cultural fields, hedge, beside street, at night, by hand, 3.XI.2004, leg. P. Jäger & V. Vedel. 1♀, Vientiane Prov., Vang Vien, Nam Song, 229 m a.s.l., 18°54.698'N 102°27.350'E, riverbanks, vegetation, at night, by hand, sweepnet, 12.–13.III.2007, leg. P. Jäger & F. Steinmetz.

Remarks. Hylyphantes birmanica Thorell, 1895 was previously considered a Southeast Asian vicariant of the Palearctic H. graminicola (see Tanasevitch 2010). These species differ in the position of a denticle in the distal part of the male palpal tibia, as well as in the location, more exactly, inclination of the receptacles of the epigynum. A study of material, both new and old, from different parts of the Palaearctic shows that all those minor differences reflect individual variations. Thus, a H. graminicola male collected from Muang Sing, Laos has a denticle, versus its full absence in a syntopic male. Similarly, the location, size and even presence of a denticle is often observed in H. graminicola from various parts of the Palearctic. The degree of the inclination of the epigynal’s receptacles also varies individually, depending as well on the extent of chemical maceration of the supporting tissues during epigynum clearing. Therefore, the record of H. birmanica in Myanmar must be considered as referring to H. graminicola. Hence, H. birmanica Thorell, 1895 becomes a junior subjective synonym of H. graminicola (Simon, 1881), n. syn.

Distribution. Throughout the Palearctic: from Iceland eastward to Chukotka, from northern Siberia southward to Tian Shan; in the Far East: Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Japan, Korea, Taiwan (Tanasevitch 2014). In The Oriental Asia: Vietnam (Tu & Li 2005), Myanmar (Thorell 1895) and Laos.