Tomocerus vulgaris (as its specific name would suggest) is a common and widespread species (although paradoxically, it is not the most common Tomocerus in Britain and Ireland and has not been recorded from the SW peninsula of England). The spines on the inner side of the dens are simple and there are no large leaf-shaped scales close to the point where the dentes join the manubrium (Fig. 1 and 2). The empodial appendage of the foot is just over half as long as the claw (Fig. 3). The mucro is long and distinctive (Fig. 4).

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Fig. 1 (above): Basal region of the dentes of Tomocerus vulgaris collected from Holme Fen, Hunts. in September 1963 by Peter Lawrence illuminated by phase contrast. There are no large leaf-shaped scales close to the point where the dentes join the manubrium (*)
Fig. 2 (below): Same view as in Fig. 1 but under ordinary illumination.

Fig. 3 (above): Foot of the third leg of the same specimen of Tomocerus vulgaris shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 (above): Mucro of the same specimen of Tomocerus vulgaris shown in Fig. 1.