Troglohyphantes similis

Like all the members of the genus, Troglohyphantes similis is a relatively small spider.^[6] The female has a typical body length of 2.5 mm (0.098 in). Its cephalothorax is a fawn-reddish oval that is typically 1.46 mm (0.057 in) long with a nearly flat top. Its mouthparts are also fawn-reddish, although its labium is brownish, similar to the underside of the cephalothorax. Its sternum is also brownish and has fine hairy granulations. Its abdomen is white with a brown tinge to the back.^[7] The spider's epigyne, the external and most visible of its copulatory organs, is similar to Troglohyphantes excavatus, but the lower ridge does not have an indentation in the middle.^[8] It is identical to It can be most easily distinguished from related species by its smaller size, smaller legs and fewer spines.^[9]

The male has a similar cephalothorax to the female but is easier to differentiate from other species. The shape of its pedipalps is particularly distinctive in its shape, with some sections having a characteristic curved shape. Its palpal bulb is similar to the related Troglohyphantes excavaius but differs in the shape of the lamella, of spike that projects from the bulb. This is forked with a short outer branch and a wider inner branch. There is an additional spike, or apophysis, that projects from the bulb that is sickle-shaped.^[8]

Most Troglohyphantes species live in the mountain ranges of Europe including the Pyrenees, Alps, Dinarides and Carpathians, usually in subterranean environments or caves.^[4] Troglohyphantes similis lives in Lukova jama pri Zdihovem, a cave in the Kočevje mountains of Slovenia.^[10] Troglohyphantes gracilis, Troglohyphantes spinipes and this species are very closely related with ranges that are contiguous.^[11] The three species are all referred to as the Kočevje subterranean spider.^[12] The species is at risk of climate change reducing its habitat.^[13]

• Fage, Louis (1919). "Biospelogica XL. Etudes sur les araignées cavernicoles. III. Sur le genre Troglohyphantes" [Biospelogica XL. Studies on cave spiders. III. On the genus Troglohyphantes]. Archives de Zoologie Expérimentale et Générale (in French). 58: 55–148.
• Deeleman-Reinhold, Christina L. (1978). "Revision of the cave-dwelling and related spiders of the genus Troglohyphantes Joseph (Linyphiidae), with special reference to the Yugoslav species". Slovenska Akademija Znanosti in Umetnosti, Razred za Prirodoslovne Vede, Classis IV, Historia Naturalis (Prirod. Vede). 23 (6): 1–220.
• Koomen, Peter; Van Helsdingen, Peter Johan (1996). Listing of biotopes in Europe according to their significance for invertebrates. Vol. 77. Strasbourg: Council of Europe. ISBN 978-9-28713-002-0.
• Milano, Filippo; Borio, Luca; Komposch, Christian; Mammola, Stefano; Pantini, Paolo; Pavlek, Martina; Isaia, Marco (2022). "Species conservation profiles of the endemic spiders Troglohyphantes (Araneae, Linyphiidae) from the Alps and the north-western Dinarides" (PDF). Biodiversity Data Journal: 19;10:e87261. doi:10.3897/BDJ.10.e87261. PMID 36761670.