''Atypus piceus'' is a mygalomorph spider of the family

Atypidae Atypidae, also known as atypical tarantulas or purseweb spiders, is a spider family containing only three genus, genera. They are accomplished ambush predators that spend most of their time in a sock-like, silken retreat on the ground from where t ...

. It occurs from France to Russia and in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, and is the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of the genus ''Atypus''.

Description

Males are about long without

chelicerae The chelicerae () are the arthropod mouthparts, mouthparts of the subphylum Chelicerata, an arthropod group that includes arachnids, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. Commonly referred to as "jaws", chelicerae may be shaped as either articulated ...

, females up to . Males are of a deep black, while spiderlings and females are dark brown with a violet hue. The very long posterior

spinnerets A spinneret is a silk-spinning organ of a spider or the larva of an insect. Some adult insects also have spinnerets, such as those borne on the forelegs of Embioptera. Spinnerets are usually on the underside of a spider's opisthosoma, and ar ...

consist of three segments, the last segment features a light blot, which is helpful in identifying the species. ''A. piceus'' can live for more than 10 years.Bellmann, H. (1997). Kosmos-Atlas Spinnentiere Europas. ''Kosmos''.

Habits

Adults live in up to deep tubes with a diameter of about 10 mm. The silken lining continues above ground for about , where it is camouflaged with matter from the vicinity. The mating period is from June to July, when the males search for females. The spiderlings hatch during autumn and overwinter in the mother's burrow without feeding. After emerging in spring, they climb nearby plants and use strands of silk to fly away ( ballooning).

Evolutionary relationship

''Atypus piceus'' is possibly the result of hybridisation of '' A. affinis'' and '' A. muralis''. ''A. muralis'' has posterior spinnerets with four segments, ''A. affinis'' with three, and ''A. piceus'' has three, but the white blot could be result of this hybridisation.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q136914 Atypidae Spiders of Europe Spiders of Iran Spiders of Russia Spiders described in 1776 Taxa named by Johann Heinrich Sulzer