Canadian Forest Service Publications
Redescription of the spider Robertus arcticus (Chamberlin & Ivie) (Araneae: Theridiidae), with the first description of the female. 2021. Pinzon, J.; Kent, K.; Buckle, D.J.; Bennett, R. Journal of Entomological Society of British Columbia 118(2021).
Year: 2021
Issued by: Northern Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 40760
Language: English
Availability: PDF (download)
Abstract
The original description of Robertus arcticus (Chamberlin and Ivie, 1947) (Araneae: Theridiidae) was based on a single male collected in Alaska, United States of America. The female has remained undescribed, although specimens of both sexes have been collected over the intervening decades. The species occurs in boreal Alaska, and records from Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada and James Bay, Ontario, Canada suggest that it is probably widely distributed in the Canadian boreal. Here we redescribe the male and describe the female for the first time. Most specimens examined in our study were collected from the ground of boreal forest peatlands in northeastern Alberta.
Plain Language Summary
The original description of the cobweb spider species Robertus arcticus was based on a single male collected in Alaska (United States of America). The female has remained undescribed although specimens of both sexes have been collected over the intervening decades. The species occurs in boreal Alaska and records from Cold Lake, Alberta and James Bay, Ontario suggest that it is probably widely distributed in the Canadian boreal. In this paper we redescribe the male and describe the female for the first time. Most specimens examined in our study were collected from the ground of boreal forest peatlands in northeastern Alberta. The aim of this research is to contribute to spider biodiversity information in Canada and fill knowledge gaps of species identity and distribution in Alberta.
