A RECONSIDERATION OF 
THE OXYOPES APOLLO SPECIES GROUP 
WITH THE DESCRIPTIONS OF 
TWO NEW SPECIES (ARANEAE: OXYOPIDAE)* 
By Allen R. Brady 
Hope College, Holland, Michigan 49423 
The lynx spiders, Oxyopidae, are represented by a small but diverse 
group of species in North America, north of Mexico. Three genera 
including 17 species were recorded and described from this region 
(Brady, 1964). Eight new species were described in the genus 
Oxyopes. Of these eight new species, six were placed in the Oxyopes 
apollo species group consisting of Oxyopes apollo , floridanus, tridens, 
pardus, lynx and felinus. These six species were grouped on the 
basis of similarities in genitalia, body structure, color pattern, and 
relative length of legs. With the accumulation of additional material 
a re-evaluation of the apollo group is necessary. Collections from 
North Carolina, Florida and Texas indicate that O. apollo and O. 
floridanus are conspecific. Among specimens from Arizona were in- 
cluded one new species and an undescribed female, both related to 
members of the apollo group. Additional Florida collections have 
revealed for the first time numerous specimens of a species described 
as Oxyopes lanceolatus (Walckenaer) by Chamberlin and Ivie 
(1944), but here considered a new species and a member of the 
apollo group. 
In light of this new information a dendrogram representing the 
relationships of the species in the apollo group is shown in Text 
Figure 1. This comparison of the morphological features of these 
species takes into account their distribution as far as it is known. 
Consideration of the dendrogram as a phylogeny of the species 
involved allows speculation and the construction of a generalized 
picture of the origin and dispersal routes of these North American 
oxyopids. 
The apollo species group can be separated into two subgroups: 
A, represented by O. apollo and O. artemis ; and B, represented by 
O. tridens , pardus , lynx, cougar and felinus. Both subgroups A and 
B have eastern and western representatives. The similarity of epi- 
gynal structure between O. apollo and O. artemis (compare figs. 47, 
48 of Brady, 1964, with Figs. 13-15 of this paper) indicates a rela- 
*M anuscript received by the editor September 9, 1969 
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