Taxonomy

Coccorchestes spp. are found mostly in New Guinea, with outliers in Australia and New Caledonia. The single Australian described species, Coccorchestes ferreus, is found in north-eastern Queensland. Further information on the genus and described species can be found in Richardson and Żabka (2023) and Whyte and Anderson (2017).

Description

Coccorchestes spp. are small, robustly-built beetle-mimicking spiders, body length about 3 mm. They resemble small, black beetles, with a high cephalothorax, round abdomen and a shiny finish to the upper surfaces. There are small tubercles scattered across the upper surface of the cephalothorax. The rear edge of the cephalothorax has a crenelated appearance. The chelicerae have a single bicuspid retro-lateral tooth (fissident) with two teeth on the promargin. The legs are slender and of approximately equal length.

The male palp has a ribbon-like spiral embolus emerging from the distal edge of the tegulum which reaches over halfway up the cymbium. The tegulum has a roughly rectangular shape and is without a proximal lobe. There is no retro-lateral tibial apophysis. 

The female has two epigynal atria adjacent to the epigastric fold. The copulatory openings are in the centre of each atrium. The insemination ducts move posteriorly to join sausage-shaped spermathecae.

Biology

This beetle mimic is found in rainforest. It walks in a beetle-like rather than spider-like fashion.

Distribution

Coccorchestes ferreus is known from only a few locations on Cape York, Queensland.

References

Davies, V.T. & Żabka, M. 1989, Illustrated keys to the genera of jumping spiders (Araneae Salticidae) in Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 27, 189-266.

Griswold, C.E. 1984. Coccorchestes Thorell newly described from Australia (Araneae Salticidae). Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 6, 147-148

Prószyński, J. 1971. Redescriptions of type-species of genera of Salticidae (Aranei), VIII-X. Revision of the subfamily Coccorchestinae. Annales Zoologici, Warszawa 28, 153-182.

Richardson, B.J. & Żabka, M. 2023. Salticidae. Arachnida Araneomorphae. Canberra, Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study, at https//biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/SALTICIDAE.

Whyte, R. & Anderson, G. 2017. A Field Guide to Spiders of Australia. CSIRO Publishing Clayton.

* The information sheet should be interpreted in the context of the associated diagrams and photographs. Diagrams explaining anatomical terms can be found in the ‘Salticidae’ pictures at the beginning of the list of genera.