Auplopus himalayensis (Cameron 1905)

Auplopus himalayensis (Cameron)

This common species has a wide distribution in the Oriental Region, ranging from the Indian subcontinent eastward to Thailand, North Borneo, Sarawak, Sumba, and the Philippines. Within Sri Lanka it occurs at localities in all three ecological zones in localities with altitudes from near sea level to 610 m and an average annual rainfall of 1200–5000 mm. We collected it as follows.

Mannar District: 0.8 km NE of Kokmotte Bungalow, Wilpattu National Park

Vavuniya District Paralanalankyulam

Polonnaruwa District: Polonnaruwa

Trincomalee District Trincomalee, China Bay

Amparai District: Ekgal Aru Reservoir

Matale District: Kibissa near Sigiriya

Kandy District: Hasalaka and Kandy, Udawattakele Sanctuary

Kalutara District: Agalawatte

Kegalla District: Kitulgala

Ratnapura District: Gilimale

Monaragala District: Angunakolapelessa

Galle District: Kanneliya

Matara District: Enselwatta

PREY TRANSPORT.—P.B. Karunaratne collected a female, 8.0 mm long, at Kanneliya in the Sinharaja rain forest about 1500 on 15 January 1975. She was transporting her huntsman spider prey, 9 mm long, walking forward or making short flights, and grasping the prey, venter to venter, by its mouthparts. The spider’s legs had been amputated at the coxae. It was a juvenile female of Heteropoda Latreille (Sparassidae).