Abstract
Cragin (1886) mentions Agelenopsis naevia (Walckenaer 1841) (listed as Agelena naevia Bosc.), as being “the commonest of spiders, building its geometric web in corners of houses and outbuildings” in Shawnee County. Although this species was reported as being common statewide by Scheffer (1904), this name was also applied to spiders that were subsequently described as separate species in the genus by later workers. A revision that became the standard taxonomic reference of the genus Agelenopsis contains Kansas records of several species, including Agelenopsis oklahoma (Gertsch 1936), Agelenopsis spatula Chamberlin and Ivie 1935, and A. naevia (Chamberlin and Ivie 1941). Fitch (1963) recorded aspects of the biology of the three species of Agelenopsis found on the University of Kansas Fitch Natural History Reservation (FNHR) in northeastern Kansas, namely Agelenopsis pennsylvanica (C. Koch 1843), A. naevia, and A. oklahoma. A synopsis of the spiders of Meade County reported observations of juvenile Agelenopsis presumed to be A. oklahoma in the short grass prairie ecosystem in the southwestern corner of the state (Fitch and Fitch 1966). More recent investigations by Ayoub et al. (2005) and Paison (1997) provided information concerning the biogeography, phylogeny, and speciation history of the genus, and included new Kansas records of Agelenopsis aleenae Chamberlin and Ivie1935, Agelenopsis emertoni Chamberlin and Ivie 1935, A. oklahoma and A. pennsylvanica. A range map of Agelenopsis aperta (Gertsch 1934) includes the extreme southwestern corner of the state, although no Kansas records are provided (Ayoub et al. 2005). Therefore, based on published accounts, Kansas is the home of 6 or possibly 7 species of funnelweb spiders of the genus Agelenopsis.
Published Version
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