Hoplopholcus cecconii Kulczyński, 1908
Hoplopholcus cecconii is a small species of troglophilic cellar spider.
It is separated from other cellar spiders in Israel by a combination of characters: eight eyes, elongated opisthosoma, legs without dark lines and prosoma with median pit.
This species is known from central Anatolia, from throughout Lebanon and from northern Israel and Jordan.
Hoplopholcus cecconii is almost exclusively found in caves, both natural and artificial (but not in urban
photo by: Shlomi Aharon
Females
Accession in GENBANK:
Accession in the World Spider Catalog:
Articles about Hoplopholcus cecconii:
Kulczyński, W. (1908). Fragmenta arachnologica. X. Bulletin International de l'Academie des Sciences de Cracovie 1908: 49-86, pl. 2.
Denis, J. (1955). Araignées. In: Mission Henri Coiffait au Liban (1951). Archives de Zoologie Expérimentale et Générale 91(Biospeol. 75), 437-454.
Uhl, G. (1994). Genital morphology and sperm storage in Pholcus phalangioides (Fuesslin, 1775)(Pholcidae; Araneae). Acta Zoologica, 75(1), 1-12.
Taxonomic Classification
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Pholcidae
Genus: Hoplopholcus
Species: Hoplopholcus cecconii
Authors: Kulczyński, 1908
Ecological Classification
Category: Troglophile
Cave zone: Entrance, twilight zone, dark zone
Microhabitat: Ceiling, walls
settings). This species prefers cool and humid habitats and inhabits all cave zones, but is commonest near the cave entrance. It can be sometimes found in great densities. This is the southernmost reaching species of Hoplopholcus and the only one found in Israel. The other species in the genus are found in Turkey and south-eastern Europe.
Map of known distribution
Huber, B. A. (2020). Revision of the spider genus Hoplopholcus Kulczyński (Araneae, Pholcidae). Zootaxa 4726(1): 1-94.
doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4726.1.1
Gavish-Regev, E., Aharon, S., Armiach Steinpress, I., Seifan, M., & Lubin, Y. (2021). A Primer on Spider Assemblages in Levantine Caves: The Neglected Subterranean Habitats of the Levant—A Biodiversity Mine. Diversity 2021, 13, 179.
https://doi.org/10.3390/d13050179
Cuff, J. P., Aharon, S., Armiach Steinpress, I., Seifan, M., Lubin, Y., & Gavish-Regev, E. (2021). It’s all about the zone: spider assemblages in different ecological zones of Levantine caves. Diversity, 13(11), 576.
https://doi.org/10.3390/d13110576