Genus Icius Simon 1876

Genus Pseudicius Simon,1885

Icius is one of genera with most complicated nomenclatorical history and very different usage by various authors.
Recent studies on numerous species (Andreeva, Heciak and Proszynski 1984) have shown that there is no convincing difference between species included heretofore into both Icius and Pseudicius and that both genera should be merged.
The type-species is Icius nobilis (C.L.Koch, 1846) = Icius hamatus (C.L.Koch, 1846) and not Icius nobilis Simon, 1871 = Icius subinermis Simon, 1937 - as quoted in catalogue of Roewer (1954).
The genus is characterized by biramous pedipalpal tibial apophysis in males (rarely reduced to uniramous) and simple bag-shaped spermathecae with short canals in epigyne in the simplest cases.
However, among 57 nominal Old World species included heretofore into Icius and a large number of yet undescribed species there is a good deal of variation and evolution in these organs, ending in very complicated structures both in males and females.
It is gradually changing resemblance among these species which permits and compels to classify them into single genus.
There are also some useful diagnostic general features - like relatively low, flat and long cephalothorax, some mutual aspects of abdominal pattern and, in some species only, a row of several sclerotized warts with single bristle or spine each, stretching under eyes lateral.
The proposed specific contents of the genus calls for further studies.
The species previously classified in Japan as Telamonia and Jotus are not include now into Icius and transferred into Phintella.
Also American species of Icius and Pseudicius are not included.

 (from Bohd. and Prosz.,1987)


Species   Pseudicius himeshimensis (Donitz et Strand in Bosenbrg et Strand, 1906)

Menemerus himeshimensis Donitz et Strand in Bosenbrg et Strand, 1906: 395-396,ff.390-116(?), Yaginuma 1970: 67, 1974: 104,f.279,
Icius himeshimensis: Proszynski 1976: map 105.

Material. 1 female - Menemerus himeshimensis, Japan: Minami-Tannova, Osaka, 18.VIII.1959.leg.det.T.Yaginuma - coll.J. Proszynski.

 Rather large spider with cephalothorax broad, long and flat.
 Coloured dull: cephalothorax brown, abdomen yellowish grey, legs greyish yellow, the anterior one brownish yellow; covered with short grey setae darkening their appearance.
 No distinct colour marks or other striking signs.
 Internal structure of epigyne resembles more Icius than Menemerus (fig.66), with bent canals, bag shaped spermathecae and long and prominent accesory gland on a chimney like protuberance.
 Epigyne externally with two openings (fig.65) and two large pockets posteriorly, with openings hidden behind the posteior edge of epigyne.
 We have not seen male of this species, but published drawings of its palpal organ, particularly the shape and position of embolus, also indicate relationship with Icius.

Measurements: leng of cephalothorax 3.34, length of abdomen 5.11,
length of eye field 1.42, width of eye field I 1.92,
width of eye field III 1.92.
Length of segments of legs:
 I  0.78+1.14+1.49+1.21+1.99;
 II 0.78+1.14+1.28+1.06+1.85;
III 0.92+1.56+1.35+0.92+2.05;
IV  0.85+1.70+1.85+1.06+1.27.
Ratios: a 0.42;
 b 1.00;
 c 0.74;
 d 1.37;
 h 1.56.
   
  (from Bohd. and Prosz.,1987)

Species  Pseudicius koreanus (Wesolowska, 1981)

Pseudicius koreanus Wesolowska, 1981a: 60,ff.52-55.

Material. 1 female - holotypus- det.Wesolowska IV.1975, North Korea, Pyongyang, 20.VII.1959, town park, rocky slope with trees and blushes, leg.B.Pisarski et J.Proszynski - col.IZ PAN - Warszawa; 2 females, 2 males - Japan, Kochi Pref., 28.VI.1964, leg.T.Yaginuma, det.J.Proszynski - col.J.Proszynski; 1 male - Japan, Kochi City, 24.VI.1964, leg.K.Nakahira, det.J.Proszynski - col.Proszynski.

 Female(type specimen + 2 Japanese). 
 Cephalothorax somewhat flattened and rather longer in than other Icius.
 Fawn with two indistinct dark spots in the middle of eye field and blackish surroundings of eyes lateral.
 Covered with sparse, short whitish thin setae marking three indistinct white concentrations beteween eyes I.
 Sides lighter with dark grey margin.
 Holotype somewhat darker and more contrasting.

 Abdomen with mosaic of irregular larger brownish grey and smaller whitish spots, posteriorly marking 2-3 indistinct greyish chevrons separated by white spots of various size and intensity - the latter are quite broad and striking in holotype, but almost invisible in one of Japanese females.
 Marginal white line along anterior half of abdomen.
 The central white line posterioly on holotype is apparently due to maceration.

 Cephalothorax frontaly narrowed to the diameter of eyes I median, with clypeus practically not developed.
 Eyes I surrounded by white setae, white setae overhanging cheliceral bases (particulary striking long and dense in holotype).
 Chelicerae fawn, pedipalps whitish, legs fawnish.
 Maxillary plates fawnish, white tipped, labium brownish, white tipped, sternum greyish yellow, anteriorly darker, coxae pale yellowish.
 Abdomen ventrally pale greyish with sides and surroundings of spinnerets darker, two oval white spots in front of spinnerets, the latter brownish grey.
 Epigyne brownish, reflecting light, with blackish spermathecae and canals visible through the walls.
 Owing to these details the external sculpture poorly visible, consists of two round depressions separated by thin ridge, with copulatory openings located posteriorly close to ridge.
 Copulatory canals bent with prominent opening of the acccesory gland, pass into canal-like, semilunar spermathecae differing with more more differentiated internal surface.
 It appeares that these canals may change their shape when pressed during preparation and this perhaps accounts for differences in the original drawing of Wesolowska (1981a,f.55)(see figs.72-73).
 There are some minor differences in holitype: abdominal pattern, darker cephalothorax, indistinct grey darkenings on some segments of legs much stronger than faint traces of such darkenings in one of Japanese females.
 The differences in drawings of Wesolowska and ours are presumbly due to preparation and drawing techniques.
 We assume that all these specimens are conspecific, however, that conclusion should better be checked on new material.
 
 Measurements (2 females from Japan): length of cephalothorax 1.70-1.77, length of abdomen 2.97-3.06,
length of eye field 0.73-0.75, width of eye field I 0.99-0.97,
width of eye field III 1.07-1.02, height 0.51-0.59.
Length of segments of legs:
 I  0.37-0.34+0.41-0.42+0.51-0.53+0.51-0.54+0.76-0.73;
 II 0.34-0.34+0.39-0.39+0.42+0.44-0.42+0.68-0.61;
III 0.39-0.34+0.44-0.42+0.41-0.41+0.44-0.42+0.70-0.68;
IV  0.37-0.36+0.61-0.61+0.61-0.68+0.48-0.49+0.95-0.94.
Ratios: a 0.43-0.42;
 b 0.92-0.95;
 c 0.74-0.77;
 d 1.50-1.66;
 h 0.30-0.34.
 
Male. Cephalothorax fawnish brown suffused grey with darker eye field and black thin ventral margin.
 Thick dense white setae on sides just above ventral margin, remnants of sparse thin white setae dorsally.
 Cephalothorax characteristic for Icius: flattened and rather long, a row of stouter setae on darker protuberances below lateral eyes.
 
 Abdomen greyish, covered with sparse and thin whitish setae with an indistinct pattern of white spots arranged diagonally and not reaching median axis of the dorsum.
 Laterally white marginal line along the anterior half of abdomen.
 In another specimen there are only marginal white spots, remaining abdomen dark grey.

 Maxillary plates and labium fawn, white tipped.
 Sternum fawn, suffused grey.
 Anterior coxae fawn, remaining pale yellowish.
 Abdomen ventrally grey.
 Spinnerets grey.

 Face narrowed to the diameter of eyes smterior median, dense beard of white setae overhanging chelicerae bases.
 Chelicerae fawnish chestnut brown.
 Pedipalps fawnish, with dorsal surfaces of patella and apical part of femur whitish.
 Palpal organ -�@as on figs.67-71 - with embolus arising in the position "1 hour" and marking a full circle around the bulbus.
Very similar species described below, occurs in Kathmandu, Nepal, differing by shorter embolus arising in the position "4 hour" and making only half a turn around bulbus.
 Legs I brown, with femur, patella and tibia much broader, robust and darker than other segments.
 Legs II-IV yellowish olive with femora suffused grey and some grey areas on tibia, metatarsus amd tarsus - not in all specimens.
 

 Measurements (2 males from Kochi Pref.- male from Kochi City): 
length of cephalothorax 1.43-1.48-1.97, length of abdomen 1.96-2.29-2.32,
length of eye field 0.73-0.76-0.82, width of eye field I 0.92-0.94-1.05,
width of eye field III 0.94-0.95-1.10, height 0.61-0.61--.
Length of segments of legs:
 I  0.34-0.37-0.42+0.53-0.53-0.75+0.59-0.71-1.07+0.56-0.63-0.90+0.78-0.90-1.25;
 II 0.39-0.37-0.37+0.39-0.39-0.52+0.37-0.42-0.52+0.34-0.39-0.55+0.71-0.75-0.85;
III 0.37-0.41-0.47+0.54-0.53-0.60+0.39-0.44-0.52+0.32-0.39-0.42+0.70-0.75-0.87;
IV  0.36-0.37-0.45+0.59-0.65-0.72+0.58-0.65-0.77+0.42-0.44-0.55+0.80-0.94-1.12.
Ratios: a 0.51-0.51--;
 b 0.98-0.98--;
 c 0.80-0.81--;
 d 1.47-1.46--;
 h 0.42-0.41--.
  
  (from Bohd. and Prosz.,1987) 


Species  Pseudicius nepalicus Andreeva,Heciak et Proszynski,1984

Material. 1 male - holotypus - Nepal, Kathmandu,18.III.1967, leg.M.Hubert - col.MNHN - Paris.

 The male palpal organ (figs.74-75) is characterized by round bulbus, embolus srising inthe "4 hour" position and making only half a turn around the bulbus.
 Its tibial apophysis is similar but looks slightly shorter than in the previous species, the bifurcation taking place more distally and the distal part looks therefore shorter.
 Leg I particularly long and robust, tibia with 1 lateral spine.
 The species resembles Icius rufithorax (Smon, 1901) and Icius spiniger (O.P.-Cambridge, 1872) from North Africa, but differs from them clearly in details of structure of palpal organ.

  (from Bohd. and Prosz.,1987) 

Species   Pseudicius tokaraensis sp.n.


Material. 1 female - holotypus - Japan: Tokara, Tokarajima Is., VI.1953, Leg.Y.Tsutsui - coll.T.Yaginuma.

 Female. Cephalothorax rather long and flat as in other Icius.
Cephalothorax brownish fawn with marginal stripe of white setae above darker ventral margin.
 Foveal area somewhat lighter, surroundings of lateral eyes black.
 Abdomen faded now with traces of indistinct yellowish grey pattern of central line and transversal spots, divided diagonally by three pairs of white lines or spots. 
 The posterior 1/3 of abdomen darker - brownish grey with small triangular white spot in front of anal tubercle, of similar siz.
 Spinnerets yellowish grey.
 Sides consisit of mosaic of thin and short greyish yellow spots on white background.
 Differs from the female (but not male) of Pseudicius koreanus by conspicuous and constrasting dense white beard overhanging cheliceral bases.
 Chelicerae darker - chestnut brown.
 Pedipalps yellowish white.
 Legs I more swollen and robust, darker - brownish fawn in comparison with much lighter in Pseudicius koreanus.
 Maxillary plates and labium fawn, white tipped.
 Sternum fawnish yellow.
 Abdomen ventrally whitish.
 Darker belt in front of spinnerets and a pair of oval indistinct white  spots anteriorly to it.
Legs II and IV rather uniformly pale yellowish.
 Legs III missing.

 Epigyne consisits of somewhat heart-like depression, partially divided posterioly, with two sclerotized pockets on both sides.
 The copulatory canals partially visible, complicate drawing, runnning laterally from pockets and then turning medially and almost touching themselves just behind the epigynal depression.
 The internal structure of epigyne consisits of two loops of canals, one beneath another, making two full circles and a short spring-like coil of three loops in the middle, passing then to rather simple spermathecae.
 The accesorry glands canals are rather long and prominent.
 The internal structure of epigyne is explained on enclosed simplified diagram (figs.77-80).
   �@  
 

   ( from Bohd. and Prosz.,1987)
 


Species  Pseudicius vulpes (Grube, 1861)

Attus vulpes Grube, 1861: 23,
Pseudicius vulpes: Proszynski 1971: 220-223,ff.30-36, 1976: map 111,f.240, 1979: 316, ff.276-278, Wesolowska 1981a: 61, ff.56-59,
Icius vulpes: Andreeva, Heciak and Proszynski 1984: 357-358,ff.15-19 (in the caption of ff.17-19 the name Icius vulpes missing by printer's error),
Pseudicius orientalis Kulczynski, 1895: 59,ff.12-14, Proszynski 1971: 220(syn.P.vulpes),
Euophrys breviaculeis Bosenberg et Strand, 1906: 340,f.387, syn.n.,
Euophrys undulatovittata Bosenberg et Strand, 1906: 339,f.376, Yaginuma 1970: 670, 1974: 110,f.300, 5,syn.n.,
Breda lambda-signata Bosenberg et Strand, 1906: 345,ff.136, 352, Yaginuma 1970: 670(syn.Euophrys undulatovittata).

Material. 1 male - typus - "Euophrys breviaculeis Bos.+Strand. Typus.Japan: Saga, Donitz S." - coll.SMF 2460; 2 males - Euophrys undulatovittata Bos. et Str., Japan, Hagurocho, Yamagata Pref.[widely distributed in Japan and common],7.VI.1952,leg.S.Okitsu, det.T.Yaginuma - coll.J.Proszynski.

 Palpal organ differs from those of other species of the genus by different shape of embolus and by single tibial apophysis.
 Epigyne fits well the diagnosis of the genus, especially the internal struture.
 Male. Cephalothorax relatively low, flat and long, dark brown (brown in the smaller specimen), glossy, with some bristles and irregular patches of whitish adpressed setae.
 Eyes surroundings blackish or dark brwon.
 Eye field with delicate metali gleam, anteriorly and laterally with brown bristles.
 Ventral margin of carapace greyish black, followed dorsal by marginal line of whitish adpressed setae.
 Length of cephalothorax 2.02, length of eye field 0.87,
width of eye field I 1.06, width of eye field III 1.18.
 Leg I dark brown with 2 pairs of spines on metatarsus, 5 spines on tibia and 3 on femur;
other legs slightly lighter with similar spines.(in smaller specimen legs yellowish grey, only 4 spines on left tibia I).
 Length of segments of legs:
 I  0.46+0.70+1.01+0.87+1.18;
II  0.42+0.53+0.64+0.62+0.95;
III 0.48+0.59+0.56+0.50+0.98;
IV  0.48+0.58+0.78+0.62+1.15.

 Abdomen greyish brown, centrally with small setae, metallically gleaming, anterior half surrounded by a thin white marginal line of whitish semi-adpressed setae and transverse belt at three fifth of abdomens length;
all with a lighter small patches forming longitudinal lines on lateral surfaces and herring bone pattern postriorly.
 Anal tubercle dark brown with a tuft of whitish setae, spinnerets dark brown.
 Length of abdomen 2.13.
 Clypeus narrow, dark brown with brown bristles.
 Chelicerae dark brown with 1 retromarginal and 2 promarginal teeth.
 Palpal organ shown on figs.81-83.
 Sternum greyish brown with transparent setae.
 Abdomen ventrally yellowish grey with light semitransparent setae (in smaller specimen: more distinct 4 longitudinal lines composed of lighter dots and similar dense longitudinal lines laterally, anterior to spinnerets 2 lighter small spots).
 Comparison with description of specimens from Irkutsk and Ussuri(Proszynski 1971) shows no signeficant differences.

  (from Bohd. and Prosz., 1987)