Lynx Spider

Description:

Oxyopidae; Oxyopes javanus Thorell, 1887. When I set out my pictures and notes in preparation for this spotting half an hour ago, I had already made the decision to call it Oxyopes sp. with one or two comments on how close it looked to O. salticus (which is distruted in U.S.A. not Southeast Asia). However, I thought it might be helpful to start afresh looking for internet images of O. pingasus, O. aspirasi and O. concolor the three other Oxyopidae listed present in Philippines. I did not intend to look at images of O. javanus because I was sure my specimen was not that species - the diagonal stripes on the sides of the abdomen were much too faint. When I could not find any pictures of the three species I wanted for comparison (and out of a kind of desperation) I visited O. javanus one more time, just to find some reassurance that it must be excluded. When I looked at the many pictures in inaturalist.org, I suddenly realized that my spider is (with a reasonable degree of certainty) Oxyopes javanus. I think what had influenced me for a long time was the fact that my very first observation of javanus several years ago (and a few more sightings since then), had strong coloration on the diagonal stripes mentioned above. When I later looked through images of O. javanus from time to time, It was not registering in my thought process that many javanus specimens were much more lightly coloured. I now realize that O. javanus has varying degrees of colour intensity and the specimen being shown in this spotting just happens to be a rather faint one. So that you won't think I am just waffling or that I do not pay sufficient attention, I will add a little note below to throw some light on what I have just said.

Habitat:

This Lynx spider was spotted in a rice field when the crop was nearly "harvest ready". There were many species of insects doing their best to reduce the yield, but there were also many spiders doing their best to reduce this population of pests.

Notes:

Now to the problem which can arise when one is looking at great numbers of similar objects, in this case spiders. For many years I had a dear friend who was the professor of neurology at a well known university. Sadly, he passed away some time ago. (I cannot name him here because because a great many people know of my association with him and I would quickly lose the anonymity I enjoy as John B.). He was as interested in my discipline as I was in his and we used to have long chats. One of those chats is the source of what I will endeavour to explain. It goes something like this; If you were interested in sports cars and saw your first Ferrari. It would make a great impression on your mind. The beautifully polished, shiny Ferrari red paint would somehow subliminally create a reference point in your brain. This might be reinforced when you saw another one or two red Ferraris. So just imagine that some time later you happened to see (heaven forbid) a dull grey Ferrari, maybe with a scratch or two in the paintwork, the chances are that you would not give it a second glance because somewhere deep in your subconscious mind Ferraris are bright shiny red. For the life of me, I cannot recall the name of this process, but it exists and we can all experience it. I believe that this is why, when I looked at so many O. javanus photos, I was oblivious to the fact that many had faint colours. Either that or I have now reached my dotage :-).