Jump to content

Sphodros niger

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sphodros niger
Sphodros niger, adult male
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Family: Atypidae
Genus: Sphodros
Species:
S. niger
Binomial name
Sphodros niger
(Hentz, 1842)
Synonyms

Atypus niger

Sphodros niger, the black purse-web spider, is a mygalomorph spider from the Eastern United States.[1] It is listed as a special concern species in Connecticut.[2]

Description

[edit]

Males have a body length of about 11 mm, 29 mm with extended legs. The body is black, except for chocolate-brown legs.[1] Although the species was first described in 1842, females were first described in 1980.[3] This results from the male's behavior of wandering about in search of mates, while females, which reside in tubes, are rarely found.

Name

[edit]

The species name niger is Latin for "black".

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Fitch, Henry S. (1963): Spiders of The University of Kansas Natural History Reservation and Rockefeller Experimental Tract.
  2. ^ "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015". State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  3. ^ Platnick, Norman I. (2009): The world spider catalog, version 9.5. American Museum of Natural History.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Gertsch, W.J. & Platnick, N.I. (1980). A revision of the American spiders of the family Atypidae (Araneae, Mygalomorphae). American Museum Novitates 2704. Abstract - PDF (12Mb)