Pelecopsis Explained

Pelecopsis is a genus of dwarf spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1864.

Most species are found in Africa, Europe and Asia, with endemic to North America.

Species

, this genus includes ninety species and four subspecies:

• Pelecopsis agaetensis Wunderlich, 1987 – Canary Islands
• Pelecopsis albifrons Holm, 1979 – Kenya
• Pelecopsis alpica Thaler, 1991 – Alps (Switzerland, Austria, Italy)
• Pelecopsis alticola (Berland, 1936) – Kenya
  • P. a. elgonensis (Holm, 1962) – Uganda
  • P. a. kenyensis (Holm, 1962) – Kenya
  • P. a. kivuensis (Miller, 1970) – DR Congo
• Pelecopsis amabilis (Simon, 1884) – Algeria
• Pelecopsis arsi Tanasevitch, 2023 – Ethiopia
• Pelecopsis aureipes Denis, 1962 – Morocco
• Pelecopsis biceps (Holm, 1962) – Tanzania
• Pelecopsis bicornuta Hillyard, 1980 – Portugal, Spain, Morocco
• Pelecopsis bigibba Seo, 2018 – Korea
• Pelecopsis bishopi Kaston, 1945 – Canada, United States
• Pelecopsis brunea Seo, 2018 – Korea
• Pelecopsis bucephala (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1875) – Western Mediterranean
• Pelecopsis capitata (Simon, 1884) – France
• Pelecopsis cedricola Bosmans & Abrous, 1992 – Algeria
• Pelecopsis coccinea (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1875) – Spain, Morocco
• Pelecopsis crassipes Tanasevitch, 1987 – Caucasus (Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan)
• Pelecopsis denisi Brignoli, 1983 – Pyrenees (Andorra, France)
• Pelecopsis digitulus Bosmans & Abrous, 1992 – Algeria, France (Corsica), Italy
• Pelecopsis dorniana Heimer, 1987 – Russia (Middle Siberia to Far North East), Mongolia
• Pelecopsis elongata (Wider, 1834) – Europe, Turkey, Israel (type species)
• Pelecopsis eminula (Simon, 1884) – Italy, Spain?
• Pelecopsis flava Holm, 1962 – Uganda, Congo
• Pelecopsis fornicata Miller, 1970 – Congo
• Pelecopsis fulva Holm, 1962 – Uganda
• Pelecopsis hamata Bosmans, 1988 – Cameroon
• Pelecopsis hillyardi Wunderlich, 2024 – Portugal
• Pelecopsis hipporegia (Denis, 1968) – Algeria, Tunisia
• Pelecopsis humiliceps Holm, 1979 – Kenya, Uganda
• Pelecopsis indus Tanasevitch, 2011 – Pakistan, India
• Pelecopsis inedita (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1875) – Canary Islands, Mediterranean
• Pelecopsis infusca Holm, 1962 – Uganda
• Pelecopsis intricata Jocqué, 1984 – South Africa
• Pelecopsis janus Jocqué, 1984 – South Africa, Lesotho
• Pelecopsis kabyliana Bosmans & Abrous, 1992 – Algeria
• Pelecopsis kalaensis Bosmans & Abrous, 1992 – Algeria
• Pelecopsis laptevi Tanasevitch & Fet, 1986 – North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan
• Pelecopsis leonina (Simon, 1884) – Algeria
• Pelecopsis levantensis Tanasevitch, 2016 – Israel
• Pelecopsis litoralis Wunderlich, 1987 – Canary Islands
• Pelecopsis loksai Szinetár & Samu, 2003 – Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, North Macedonia, Bulgaria
• Pelecopsis lunaris Bosmans & Abrous, 1992 – Algeria
• Pelecopsis major (Denis, 1945) – Algeria
• Pelecopsis malawiensis Jocqué, 1977 – Malawi
• Pelecopsis margaretae Georgescu, 1975 – Romania
• Pelecopsis medusoides Jocqué, 1984 – South Africa
• Pelecopsis mengei (Simon, 1884) – North America, Europe, Turkey, Russia (Europe to Far East), Japan
• Pelecopsis minor Wunderlich, 1995 – Mongolia
• Pelecopsis modica Hillyard, 1980 – Spain, Morocco
• Pelecopsis moesta (Banks, 1892) – Canada, United States
• Pelecopsis monsantensis Bosmans & Crespo, 2010 – Portugal, Spain
• Pelecopsis moschensis (Caporiacco, 1947) – Tanzania
• Pelecopsis mutica Denis, 1958 – France
• Pelecopsis nigriceps Holm, 1962 – Kenya, Uganda
• Pelecopsis nigroloba Fei, Gao & Zhu, 1995 – Russia (Far East), China
• Pelecopsis odontophora (Kulczyński, 1895) – Georgia
• Pelecopsis oranensis (Simon, 1884) – Morocco, Algeria
• Pelecopsis oujda Bosmans & Abrous, 1992 – Morocco, Algeria
• Pelecopsis pakistanicus Tanasevitch, 2025 – Pakistan
• Pelecopsis palmgreni Marusik & Esyunin, 1998 – Russia (Central Asia, South Siberia), Kazakhstan
• Pelecopsis papillii Scharff, 1990 – Tanzania
• Pelecopsis parallela (Wider, 1834) – Azores, Europe, Turkey, Russia (Europe to Far East), Georgia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan
• Pelecopsis paralleloides Tanasevitch & Fet, 1986 – Central Asia
• Pelecopsis partita Denis, 1954 – France
• Pelecopsis parvicollis Wunderlich, 1995 – Mongolia
• Pelecopsis parvioculis Miller, 1970 – Angola
• Pelecopsis pasteuri (Berland, 1936) – Kenya, Tanzania
• Pelecopsis pavesii Bosmans & Hervé, 2021 – Tunisia
• Pelecopsis pavida (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872) – Greece, Israel
• Pelecopsis physeter (Fage, 1936) – Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania
• Pelecopsis pooti Bosmans & Jocqué, 1993 – Spain
• Pelecopsis proclinata Bosmans, 1988 – Cameroon
• Pelecopsis punctilineata Holm, 1964 – Congo, Rwanda
• Pelecopsis punctiseriata (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906) – Japan
• Pelecopsis radicicola (L. Koch, 1872) – Europe
• Pelecopsis reclinata (Holm, 1962) – Kenya, Uganda
• Pelecopsis riffensis Bosmans & Abrous, 1992 – Morocco
• Pelecopsis robusta Weiss, 1990 – Romania
• Pelecopsis ruwenzoriensis (Holm, 1962) – Uganda
• Pelecopsis sanje Scharff, 1990 – Tanzania
• Pelecopsis sculpta (Emerton, 1917) – Alaska, Canada
  • P. s. digna Chamberlin & Ivie, 1939 – United States
• Pelecopsis senecicola Holm, 1962 – Uganda
• Pelecopsis seoi Blick & Sherwood, 2021 – Korea
• Pelecopsis subflava Russell-Smith & Jocqué, 1986 – Kenya
• Pelecopsis suilla (Simon, 1884) – Algeria
• Pelecopsis tenuipalpis Holm, 1979 – Uganda
• Pelecopsis topcui (Türkeş, Karabulut, Demir & Seyyar, 2015) – Turkey
• Pelecopsis tybaertielloides Jocqué, 1984 – Kenya
• Pelecopsis uintana (Chamberlin, 1949) – United States
• Pelecopsis varians (Holm, 1962) – Kenya, Uganda

References

^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Gen. Pelecopsis Simon, 1864 . World Spider Catalog . 10.24436/2 . 2025-10-18.
2. Millidge. A. F.. 1977. The conformation of the male palpal organs of linyphiid spiders, and its application to the taxonomic and phylogenetic analysis of the family (Araneae: Linyphiidae). Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society. 4. 21.
3. Naumova . Maria . Blagoev . Gergin . Deltshev . Christo . June 2021 . Fifty spider species new to the Bulgarian fauna, with a review of some dubious species (Arachnida: Araneae) . Zootaxa . 4984. 1 . 228–257 . 10.11646/zootaxa.4984.1.18 . 34186684 . 6 June 2024.
4. Book: Simon, E. 1864. Histoire naturelle des araignées (aranéides). Roret . Paris. 10.5962/bhl.title.47654. Eugène Simon.
5. Wiehle. H.. 1960. Spinnentiere oder Arachnoidea (Araneae). XI. Micryphantidae-Zwergspinnen. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands. 47. 34.