Chalcoscirtus lepidus

Chalcoscirtus lepidus is a small spider. The male has a brown carapace that is typically 1.06 mm (0.04 in) long and 0.69 mm (0.03 in) wide. It has a pattern of black veins and has a sparse covering of light elongated scales. The eye field is dark brown with the area around the eyes is black. The spider's face, clypeus, is yellow-brown and hairless. The spider's mouthparts, the chelicerae and labium maxilae, are yellow with a hint of brown. The underside of the carapace, the sternum, is yellow with brown margins. The abdomen is yellow with three brown stripes down the back and a distinctive large scutum. It is typically 1.03 mm (0.04 in) long and 0.69 mm (0.03 in) wide. The sides are yellow-grey and underside is yellow. The spinnerets and legs are also yellow. The spider has distinctive copulatory organs. The palpal bulb has a cymbium that is typical for the genus and a long bent tibial apophysis. The spider has a long thin embolus that curves into the bulb. The female is larger than the male. It has a fawn-brown carapace that is between 1.1 and 1.2 mm (0.04 and 0.05 in) long and typically 0.8 mm (0.03 in) wide. The eye field is short, nearly black with a blue metallic tint and has a sparse covering of white hairs. The chelicerae are brown with two small teeth to the front and none to the back. …

Chalcoscirtus species are mostly found in Central Asia. Chalcoscirtus lepidus lives in Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The holotype, a female, was collected from the Chilmamedkum Desert near Türkmenbaşy, Turkmenistan, in 1987. Other examples, including the first male to be identified, were found approximately 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Pulikhatum in the Gezgyadyk Mountain Range at altitudes between 1,000 and 1,100 m (3,300 and 3,600 ft) above sea level in 1993, although they were not described until 1999. Others live in the Zulfagar Mountain Range and Badhyz State Nature Reserve. Meanwhile, the first examples living in Tajikistan had been discovered in 1991 in Khatlon Region and in Uzbekistan in 1986 near Samarkand. The species range was later extended to include Iran, particularly an area 50 km (31 mi) north-northeast of Shiraz. The first example from Afghanistan was found in 1963 in Uaidan-Täl at an altitude of 2,560 m (8,400 ft) above sea level but was not identified until 2005.