Scotina Explained

Scotina is a genus of sac spiders of the family Liocranidae which was named by the German zoologist Franz Anton Menge in 1873 with Scotina gracilipes as the type species.^[1] Scotina was thought to be a mainly Western Palearctic genus but one species, Scotina palliardi was found in Korea in 2011.^[2] The species in the genus Scotina are small spiders which have six to ten pairs of ventral spines which can be seen using a lens. They have a darker and shinier cephalothorax than in other genera within the Liocranidae. They also have light brown femora with the more distal segments of the legs are darker, especially on the first pairs.^[3] They are terrestrial spiders which are mainly found among moss and litter on the ground.^[3]

Species

Four species are currently listed as valid in the World Spider Catalog.^[1]

• Scotina celans (Blackwall, 1841) – Europe, Algeria, Russia^[4]
• Scotina gracilipes (Blackwall, 1859) – Europe^[5]
• Scotina occulta Kritscher, 1996 – Malta^[6]
• Scotina palliardii (L. Koch, 1881) – Europe, Russia, Korea^[7]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Gen. Scotina Menge, 1873 . 1 October 2016 . Natural History Museum of Bern. World Spider Catalog.
2. Bo Keun Seo . 2011 . Description of three liocranid spider species from Korea (Araneae: Liocranidae) . Entomological Research . 41 . 3 . 98–102 . 10.1111/j.1748-5967.2011.00326.x . 83571387 . Abstract.
3. Web site: The Spiders of Europe and Greenland . 5 February 2019 . Jørgen Lissner . 2011.
4. Web site: Summary for Scotina celans (Araneae).
5. Web site: Summary for Scotina gracilipes (Araneae).
6. Web site: Summary for Scotina occulta.
7. Web site: Summary for Scotina palliardii (Araneae).