A DESCRIPTION OF POCOBLETUS CORONIGER 
SIMON (ARANEAE, LlNYPHIIDAE)* 
By Arthur M. Chickering 
Museum of Comparative Zoology 
More than thirty years ago I began finding this species in my 
collections from localities in the Panama Canal Zone. For many 
years they were regarded as representatives of a new genus. During 
a period of work in the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in 
Paris in 1958 Dr. H. W. Levi made sketches of the type specimens 
of Pocobletus coroniger Simon and later identified my specimens 
from Panama. In 1894 Simon gave a brief definition of the genus 
Pocobletus and in a footnote he gave a very brief description of both 
sexes of Pocobletus coroniger and included the species in his general 
treatment of the Argiopidae. No figures were given with the de- 
scription. Because of the uncertainties regarding the status of the 
species it now seems worth while to prepare a series of figures together 
with what I hope will be regarded as an adequate description of both 
sexes of this interesting species. As a basis for this description I have 
selected a male from Summit, Panama Canal Zone, August, 1950 
and a female from Barro Colorado Island, Canal Zone, February, 
1958. Other specimens from localities in the Canal Zone have also 
been used to supplement data derived from these two specimens. 
Pocobletus coroniger Simon, 1894 
Figures 1-9 
Pocobletus coroniger Simon, 1894: 688, 705. The male and female syntypes 
are in the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris. F. P.-Cam- 
bridge, 1903: 426; Petrunkevitch, 1911: 267; 1928: 124; Roewer, 1942: 
595; Bonnet, 1958: 3729. 
Vlale. Total length 1.65 mm. Carapace about 0.74 mm long; 
about 0.61 mm wide opposite second coxae where it is widest; about 
0.4 mm tall ; general form essentially as shown in Figure 1 ; anterior 
projection bearing eyes; ventral margin smooth; apparently with an 
obscure median pit shortly below the beginning of posterior declivity. 
Eyes : eight in two rows ; anterior row moderately recurved ; posterior 
row very slightly recurved ; both rows as viewed from above ( some 
variations in relative positions of eyes and rows have been noted 
* Manuscript received by the editor September 10, 1968 
54 
