Poecilochroa
{{Short description|Genus of spiders}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image=Poecilochroa imported from iNaturalist photo 285686267 on 29 March 2024.jpg
|image_caption=Poecilochroa sp. from Saul Kere, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
|taxon=Poecilochroa
|authority=Westring, 1874
|type_species=P. variana
|type_species_authority=(C. L. Koch, 1839)
|subdivision_ranks=Species
|subdivision=39, see text
}}
Poecilochroa is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by Niklas Westring in 1874.{{cite journal|last=Westring|first=N.|year=1874|title=Bemerkungen über die Arachnologischen Abhandlungen von Dr T. Thorell unter dem Titel: 1°, On European Spiders, pts 1 et 2, Upsala, 1869-70. 2°, Remarks on Synonyms of European Spiders, Upsala, 1872-73.|journal=Göteborgs Kungliga Vetenskaps och Vitterhets Samhälles Handlingar|pages=1–68|volume=14}}
Description
As Gnaphosidae, Poecilochroa have large cylindrical spinnerets. They are nocturnal, spending the day in silken retreats and going out at night to hunt.{{Cite web |title=Flat-bellied ground spiders, Gnaphosidae |url=https://ednieuw.home.xs4all.nl/Spiders/Gnaphosidae/Gnaphosidae.htm |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=ednieuw.home.xs4all.nl}}
Poecilochroa are divided into two gnaphosid groups based on their abdomen colouration: those with plain abdomens are in the Echemus group, while those with black and white abdomen are in the Herpyllus group. Males of both groups have well-developed dorsal scuta.{{Cite book |last=Chatzaki |first=J. Lissner M. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1248842562 |title=First records of Poecilochroa taborensis Levy, 1999 (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) from Greece and Cyprus with notes on some closely related species |date=2016-01-01 |oclc=1248842562}}
Habitat
Poecilochroa occur in various habitats including on and under stones and dead leaves, on vegetation, in steppes, grasslands, dry fields, stream beds and forest floors.{{Cite journal |last1=Bayram |first1=Abdullah |last2=Varol |first2=M. İsmail |date=2003 |title=On Poecilochroa variana , recently collected in Turkey for the first time (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09397140.2003.10637994 |journal=Zoology in the Middle East |language=en |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=101–104 |doi=10.1080/09397140.2003.10637994 |s2cid=84776303 |issn=0939-7140|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last1=Alioua |first1=Youcef |last2=Bosmans |first2=Robert |date=May 2020 |title=Poecilochroa senilis (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872) (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) recorded for the first time in Algeria and Morocco, with the proposition of a new synonym |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340661586 |journal=The Arachnological Bulletin of the Middle East and North Africa |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=121–126}}
Species
{{as of|2019|05}} it contains thirty-nine species and one subspecies:{{cite journal|title=Gen. Poecilochroa Westring, 1874|website=World Spider Catalog Version 20.0|accessdate=2019-06-04|year=2019|publisher=Natural History Museum Bern|url=http://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/genus/975|doi=10.24436/2|last1=Gloor|first1=Daniel|last2=Nentwig|first2=Wolfgang|last3=Blick|first3=Theo|last4=Kropf|first4=Christian}}
- Poecilochroa albomaculata (Lucas, 1846) – Western Mediterranean
- Poecilochroa alcala Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
- Poecilochroa anomala (Hewitt, 1915) – South Africa
- Poecilochroa antineae Fage, 1929 – Mali
- Poecilochroa barmani Tikader, 1982 – India
- Poecilochroa behni Thorell, 1891 – India (Nicobar Is.)
- Poecilochroa bifasciata Banks, 1902 – Ecuador (Galapagos Is.)
- Poecilochroa capensis Strand, 1909 – South Africa
- Poecilochroa carinata Caporiacco, 1947 – Uganda
- Poecilochroa dayamibrookiana Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
- Poecilochroa devendrai Gajbe & Rane, 1985 – India
- Poecilochroa faradjensis Lessert, 1929 – Congo
- Poecilochroa furcata Simon, 1914 – France, Italy, Greece
- Poecilochroa golan Levy, 1999 – Israel
- Poecilochroa haplostyla Simon, 1907 – São Tomé and Príncipe
- Poecilochroa incompta (Pavesi, 1880) – Tunisia
- Poecilochroa insularis Kulczyński, 1911 – Indonesia (Java)
- Poecilochroa involuta Tucker, 1923 – South Africa
- Poecilochroa joreungensis Paik, 1992 – Korea
- Poecilochroa latefasciata Simon, 1893 – Peru
- Poecilochroa loricata Kritscher, 1996 – Malta
- Poecilochroa malagassa Strand, 1907 – Madagascar
- Poecilochroa parangunifasciata Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – Philippines
- Poecilochroa patricia (Simon, 1878) – France (Corsica)
- Poecilochroa pauciaculeis Caporiacco, 1947 – East Africa
- Poecilochroa perversa Simon, 1914 – France
- Poecilochroa phyllobia (Thorell, 1871) – Italy
- Poecilochroa pugnax (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1874) – Libya, Egypt, Ethiopia, Israel
- Poecilochroa rollini Berland, 1933 – French Polynesia (Marquesas Is., Tuamotu)
- Poecilochroa sedula (Simon, 1897) – India
- Poecilochroa senilis (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872) – France (Corsica) to Turkmenistan
- Poecilochroa s. auspex (Simon, 1878) – Spain, France
- Poecilochroa taborensis Levy, 1999 – Israel, Cyprus, Greece, Portugal
- Poecilochroa taeguensis Paik, 1992 – Korea
- Poecilochroa tikaderi Patel, 1989 – India
- Poecilochroa tridotus Caleb & Mathai, 2013 – India
- Poecilochroa trifasciata Mello-Leitão, 1918 – Brazil
- Poecilochroa variana (C. L. Koch, 1839) (type) – Europe to Central Asia
- Poecilochroa viduata (Pavesi, 1883) – Ethiopia
- Poecilochroa vittata Kulczyński, 1911 – Indonesia (Java)