Drassyllus aprilinus
(Banks, 1904)
Drassyllus aprilinus is a small ground spider in the Gnaphosidae. It occurs in forested of the eastern United States and Mexico. The exhibits pronounced in coloration, with females displaying distinctive abdominal patterning. Identification requires examination of genitalia structures.
Pronunciation
How to pronounce Drassyllus aprilinus: /drəˈsɪləs ˌeɪprɪˈlaɪnəs/
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Identification
Most reliably identified through dissection and inspection of genitalia. Males: projection at tip of terminal . Females: almost invisible median plate of . Females may be tentatively recognized by abdominal patterning, but this is not definitive. Males cannot be reliably identified by external appearance alone.
Images
Habitat
Strongly associated with forested including oak-hickory, pine, sand-pine, and beech-magnolia forests. Also recorded from pecan and citrus groves. Found near ground level, often under leaf litter or stones.
Distribution
Eastern United States and Mexico. Specific records include Maryland (type locality) and broader eastern US range.
Seasonality
present throughout the year; no seasonal restriction observed.
Behavior
Ground-dwelling; occupies microhabitats under leaf litter and stones. No web-building described.
Similar Taxa
- Drassyllus frigidusHistorical confusion; male D. aprilinus were originally misidentified as male D. frigidus and described as separate D. ostegae. Requires genitalia examination to distinguish.
- Other Drassyllus species members generally similar in size and ground-dwelling habit; external often insufficient for -level identification without genitalia examination.
More Details
Taxonomic history
Originally described as Zelotes aprilinus by Nathan Banks in 1904 from Maryland. Transferred to Drassyllus by Chamberlin in 1922. First male description in 1936 erroneously treated as new Drassyllus ostegae, later synonymized.