About Tmarus piger (Walckenaer, 1802)
Adult male Tmarus piger have a body length of approximately 3.5 to 4 millimeters (0.14 to 0.16 inches), while adult females reach a body length of around 5.9 to 6 millimeters (0.23 to 0.24 inches). The carapace is brownish, with a brown-grey band along each side and small spines. Some individuals have an entirely yellow-brown or black-brown carapace. The abdomen, also called the opisthosoma, varies greatly in color and markings. Most commonly, it ranges from silvery-grey to dark brown, with either dark or light transverse lines. Some individuals may be orange-red with a whitish back. The abdomen is rather high, compressed into a V-shape, extended toward the tail end, and has a small tubercle on its posterior section. The legs have faint dark brown annulations, and bear short spines that grow from black spots. In males, the palpal bulbs at the tip of the pedipalps are round to elongated oval in shape. Tmarus piger is found across the Palearctic realm. Its confirmed distribution includes multiple European countries: Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia, as well as Turkey, the Caucasus, Kazakhstan, European Russia extending to the Far East, China, Korea, and Japan. This spider species lives in a wide range of different habitats, including warm areas, bogs, swamps, grasslands, open forests, bushes, and hedges. Individuals are typically found on leaves, branches, twigs, and tree bark, where they are effectively camouflaged.
