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(Fig. 1), the significance of which was unknown until the complete 
courtship sequence was observed (Kronestedt, 1979b, and ms. in 
prep.). Unlike what is common in lycosids, the female in this species 
plays a ritualistic active part in the premating display. The male is 
unable to mount the female before the following sequence has been 
passed through. The female will grasp one of the male’s first tibiae 
with her chelicerae and pull him towards her, all the time holding 
her grip around his first tibia. This phase will last for approx. 10 s. 
After being released, the male will immediately mount the female. 
On each side of the swollen first tibiae there is an oblique depres- 
sion which may aid the female in maintaining her grip. Moreover, 
these tibiae are black and strongly sclerotized (except for the depres- 
sions). Their unique shape is evidently essential in the premating 
display of A. cuneata, and thus also a strong isolating mechanism 
when connected to behaviour. What releases the grasping behaviour 
of the female? No definite answer can be given until further exten- 
sive experiments have been made. However, in trying to find 
whether there is any chemical cue involved, the male tibia was exam- 
ined using SEM. 
The cuticle of the first tibia in male A. cuneata is equipped with 
numerous pores (Fig. 2a), a condition hitherto unknown among 
lycosids. These pores could well be the emitting site for some type of 
aphrodisiac. In the closely related species A. pulverulenta (Clerck), 
with normal first tibiae in the adult male, less abundant and more 
scattered leg pores were observed (Fig. 2b). The latter condition was 
also found in adult females of the mentioned Alopecosa species and 
in both sexes of other lycosid species as well (Fig. 2c, d). Therefore, 
it is assumed that the situation in male A. cuneata is a special 
adaptation of a commonly occurring contact pheromone releasing 
system in lycosid spiders. If these presumptive pheromones are, at 
least in part, volatile, they are also candidates in olfactory commu- 
nication, for which other receptors may operate (e. g. the tarsal 
organ: Dumpert, 1978). 
Most investigators have focused on the means by which males 
find and recognize females. However, it is of utmost importance for 
the female to identify the proper male, as males are often less dis- 
criminant. Chemical recognition of males by females in lycosids is 
little studied but probably of significance (Tietjen and Rovner, 
