Marc A. Milne
@forthespiders.bsky.social
Spider taxonomist / conservationist / ecologist. Professor of Biology at the University of Indianapolis. Canadian. Lover of metal, cats, and hockey. 🌹
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then!
November 18, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then!
Yeah, but like, is it really Centromerus? That genus has not been revised. It would be interesting to see genetic data.
November 12, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Yeah, but like, is it really Centromerus? That genus has not been revised. It would be interesting to see genetic data.
Wow! "Centromerus" perhaps? That epigynum is wild.
November 12, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Wow! "Centromerus" perhaps? That epigynum is wild.
Mostly a surprise when we get home. But we did catch a few carabids!
November 1, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Mostly a surprise when we get home. But we did catch a few carabids!
We are attempting to rediscover a few lost species.
October 30, 2025 at 11:45 PM
We are attempting to rediscover a few lost species.
We saw plenty of gators. Paddled right by a few. No snakes...yet.
October 29, 2025 at 10:41 PM
We saw plenty of gators. Paddled right by a few. No snakes...yet.
Thanks! Jackson gave me the run down of what to collect add far as millipedes are concerned.
October 25, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Thanks! Jackson gave me the run down of what to collect add far as millipedes are concerned.
@tyuge.bsky.social and @derekhennen.bsky.social - I have successfully gotten the permit changed to "arthropods!"
October 23, 2025 at 3:35 PM
@tyuge.bsky.social and @derekhennen.bsky.social - I have successfully gotten the permit changed to "arthropods!"
Noooo idea. All we know about this species is what it looks like and its name, like most linyphiids. 😫 We'll be searching on Billy's Island, though, so hopefully it's a bit more widespread within the park.
October 19, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Noooo idea. All we know about this species is what it looks like and its name, like most linyphiids. 😫 We'll be searching on Billy's Island, though, so hopefully it's a bit more widespread within the park.
What's extra interesting here is that the males of every other species in this genus not only lacks spines like these, but, in its place possesses soft patches of microsetae. Could these stout spines be mimicking the function of soft microsetae patches? It seems unlikely?
October 19, 2025 at 6:29 PM
What's extra interesting here is that the males of every other species in this genus not only lacks spines like these, but, in its place possesses soft patches of microsetae. Could these stout spines be mimicking the function of soft microsetae patches? It seems unlikely?
One of the most interesting morphological quirks of this spider is a character I have never seen in any other spider, regardless of taxonomic family, and that is the presence of two stout spines on the male clypeus. The clypeus is on the "face" just below the anterior eyes, above the chelicerae.
October 19, 2025 at 6:29 PM
One of the most interesting morphological quirks of this spider is a character I have never seen in any other spider, regardless of taxonomic family, and that is the presence of two stout spines on the male clypeus. The clypeus is on the "face" just below the anterior eyes, above the chelicerae.
As many as are necessary to get to the truth!
October 17, 2025 at 11:53 AM
As many as are necessary to get to the truth!
I identified a second specimen in the FMNH collection a few years ago from northern Florida, collected by Larry Watrous 58 years later in 1980 from "leaf litter around a pond margin."
The female is still unknown, so it would be excellent to find and collect both together to pair up those sexes.
The female is still unknown, so it would be excellent to find and collect both together to pair up those sexes.
October 16, 2025 at 4:12 PM
I identified a second specimen in the FMNH collection a few years ago from northern Florida, collected by Larry Watrous 58 years later in 1980 from "leaf litter around a pond margin."
The female is still unknown, so it would be excellent to find and collect both together to pair up those sexes.
The female is still unknown, so it would be excellent to find and collect both together to pair up those sexes.
Oh my lord! That's terrible.
October 14, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Oh my lord! That's terrible.
That male was collected in 1912. The female wasn't found until 1943, near Sylvania, 144mi N of the swamp. Even more concerning is that the female was not collected with a male so how did Chamberlin and Ivie know it was this species? 🤷♂️Dubious. Hopefully we find both sexes in one catch to be certain.
October 13, 2025 at 6:41 PM
That male was collected in 1912. The female wasn't found until 1943, near Sylvania, 144mi N of the swamp. Even more concerning is that the female was not collected with a male so how did Chamberlin and Ivie know it was this species? 🤷♂️Dubious. Hopefully we find both sexes in one catch to be certain.