Ancylometes – morphology

Spiders of the genus are large ecribellate hunting spiders, with a total body length of 15-40 mm. Prosoma is oval to pear-shaped in dorsal view, 1.2 to 1.4 times longer than wide. Cephalic area is not elevated, fovea is linear, shallow. Ocular area is narrow, eye formula is ctenoid: 2-4-2, forming two strongly recurved eye rows. All eyes except the anterior lateral eyes are round.
Clypeus is moderately high, less than twice the diameter of anterior median eyes.
The integument is usually brown, body and legs are covered with dense hair. Colour patterns are formed by dense hairs of yellow, purpurish or white colour. Males are usually lighter brown than females, and with the exception of A. terrenus, all males present broad white to yellow marginal bands on prosoma. Abdomen with 1-3 pairs of muscle spots.

Chelicerae are stout with a large boss and at base covered by long, often white hairs. Retromargin of fang furrow with 4 or 3 stout teeth, the third sometimes considerably smaller, promargin with 1 large median and 1 or 2 small teeth. Sternum subcircular, labium without basal notch, about 1.5 times longer than wide.
Legs long, leg formula 4123, trochanters weakly notched. Slight sexual dimorphism in length and spination of legs: males are smaller with relatively longer legs and more spines.

Diagnostic for the genus is the presence of 1-16 short ventral spines on tarsi III and IV in both sexes.
Male palps with a basally broad, semicircular filiform embolus, attached retrolaterally to the tegulum. Embolus is at its base flanked by a membranous lobe, which is species-specific in its form. Embolus in its filiform part embedded in a wing-shaped conductor. Opposite to the conductor is a characteristic hook- or hammer-shaped apophysis.
Female epigyne with a central plate in form of a bike saddle with its nose pointing posteriorly, varying from nearly circular over drop-shaped and triangular to rectangular, flanked by broad lateral plates.

Link to the original revision of Höfer & Brescovit (2000) as made available by Plazi.org.