Theridiidae

Female Dipoena melanogaster, from Spiders of the Netherlands.


Belongs within: Araneoidea.
Contains: Steatoda, Latrodectus, Enoplognatha, Phycosoma, Robertus, Argyrodes, Theridion, Achaearanea.

The Theridiidae, the cobweb spiders, are a cosmopolitan family of spiders that construct irregular webs with radiating threads. Prey is taken using a wrap-bite attack involving sticky silk (Jocqué & Dippenaar-Schoeman 2007). This family includes a number of species that live in association with humans. Notable members include Dipoena, a genus of very small spiders with an anteriorly raised carapace and a wide, concave clypeus. Phoroncidia is another genus of small spiders in which the skin of the abdomen is thickened and adorned with prominent lobes and knobs (Forster & Forster 1999). Females of the Hadrotarsinae have the colulus replaced by two setae and palmate palps (Jocqué & Dippenaar-Schoeman 2007).

Characters (from Jocqué & Dippenaar-Schoeman 2007): Small to medium-sized; eight eyes present; labium not rebordered; legs with three tarsal claws, with no or few spines; tarsi IV with a row of lightly curved, serrated bristles; ecribellate; modified, aggregate silk glands present, sticky silk used to wrap prey; male palpal tibia distally widened, no paracymbium; entelegyne.

<==Theridiidae [Theridioidae]
    |--Dipoena Thorell 1869 A02
    |    |--D. aculeata (Hickman 1951) [=Trigonobothrys aculeatus] FS04
    |    |--D. blattea (Urquhart 1885) [incl. Theridium albogullatum Uruhart 1887, T. tuberculum Urquhart 1887] NS00
    |    |--D. crassiventris B06
    |    |--D. infulata (Koch & Berendt 1854) S93
    |    |--D. melanogaster SS02
    |    |--D. prona (Menge 1868) K02
    |    `--D. setosa (Hickman 1951) [=Trigonobothrys setosus] FS04
    `--+--Robertus A02
       `--+--Argyrodes A02
          `--+--Anelosimus A02
             |    |--A. eximius (Keyserling 1884) A02
             |    `--A. vittatus [=Theridion vittatum] V09
             `--+--Theridion A02
                `--Achaearanea A02

Theridiidae incertae sedis:
  Steatoda PVD10
  0--Latrodectus BS09
  `--+--Spintharus [Spintharinae] BS09
     |    `--S. flavidus BS09
     `--Phoroncidia Westwood 1835 BS09, PVD10 [Phoroncidiinae]
          |--P. americana BS09
          |--P. lygeana JD-S07
          |--P. pukeiwa (Marples 1955) PVD10
          |--P. puketoru (Marples 1955) PVD10
          `--P. quadrata (Pickard-Cambridge 1879) PVD10
  Theonoe minutissima (Cambridge 1879) K02
  Neottiura Menge 1868 S03
    |--N. bimaculata S03
    `--N. suaveolens (Simon 1879) [incl. Dipoena regia Drenski 1929] W77
  Episinus Walckenaer in Latreille 1809 PVD10
    |--E. algiricus Lucas 1846 E12
    |--E. angulatus (Blackwall 1836) BBM02
    |--E. antipodianus Pickard-Cambridge 1879 PVD10
    |--E. australis Koch & Keyserling 1890 KK90
    |--E. conifera (Urquhart 1887) [=Ariamnes conifera] NS00
    |--E. similanus Urquhart 1893 PVD10
    |--E. similitudus Urquhart 1893 PVD10
    `--E. truncatus SS02
  Enoplognatha W76
  Pholcomma Thorell 1869 [Pholcommatinae] PVD10
    |--P. antipodianum (Forster 1955) PVD10 [=Erigone antipodiana F64]
    |--P. gibbum (Westring 1851) MG03
    |--P. hickmani Forster 1964 PVD10
    `--P. turbotti (Marples 1956) PVD10
  Euryopis Menge 1868 PVD10
    |--E. argentea JVHN90
    |--E. elegans Koch & Keyserling 1890 KK90
    |--E. episinoides (Walckenaer 1847) PO08
    |--E. flavomaculata (Koch 1836) BBM02
    `--E. nana (Pickard-Cambridge 1879) PVD10 [incl. Theridium pusillulum Urquhart 1890 NS00]
  Lithyphantes S95
    |--L. anticus Berland 1939 S93
    |--L. corollatus S95
    `--L. lepidus M83
  Moneta Pickard Cambridge 1870 PVD10
    `--M. conifera (Urquhart 1887) PVD10
  Teutana grossa M83
  Phycosoma FS04
  Nesticodes Archer 1950 PVD10
    `--*N. rufipes (Lucas 1846) PVD10 (see below for synonymy)
  Lasaeola Simon 1881 MG03
    |--L. lindholmi Strand 1910 [=Dipoena lindholmi] J98
    `--L. tristis (Hahn 1833) MG03
  Paidiscura Archer 1950 MG03
    `--P. dromedaria (Simon 1880) MG03
  Chrosiothes curvispinosus P92
  Icona Forster 1955 PVD10
    |--*I. alba Forster 1955 PVD10
    `--I. drama Forster 1964 PVD10
  Paraebius Thorell 1894 T94
    `--*P. mandibularis Thorell 1894 T94
  Landana petitii T94
  Chrysso picturata (Simon 1895) HU08
  Thwaitesia L-M-HM11
  Parasteatoda Archer 1946 PVD10
    |--*P. tepidariorum (Koch 1841) PVD10
    `--P. lunata (Clerck 1757) MF11
  Crustulina Menge 1868 GGG04
    `--C. guttata RKD02
  Cephela longiseta V09
  Coleosoma floridanum V09
  Coscinida JD-S07
  Hadrotarsinae [Hadrotarsidae] JD-S07
  Proboscidula JD-S07
  Emertonella MC13
  Yagunimena MC13
  Cryptachaea Archer 1946 PVD10
    |--C. blattea (Urquhart 1886) [incl. Achaearanea acoreensis (Berland 1932)] PVD10
    `--C. verruculata (Urquhart 1886) PVD10
  Ariamnes Thorell 1968 PVD10
    |--A. colubrinus Koch in Koch & Keyserling 1890 KK90
    `--A. triangularis Urquhart 1887 PVD10 [=Argyrodes triangulatus NS00]
  Rhomphaea Koch 1872 PVD10
    `--R. urquharti (Bryant 1933) PVD10 [=Argyrodes urquhartii NS00, Ariamnes attenuatus Urquhart 1887 NS00]
  Flegia S93
    |--F. longimana Koch & Berendt 1854 S93
    `--F. succini Petrunkevitch 1942 S93
  Municeps S93
    |--M. chiapasanus Petrunkevitch 1971 P92
    |--M. minutus Petrunkevitch 1942 S93
    `--M. pulcheri (Petrunkevitch 1942) S93
  Mictodipoena stridula (Petrunkevitch 1958) S93
  Eomysmena S93
    |--E. asta Petrunkevitch 1971 P92
    |--E. baltica (Petrunkevitch 1946) S93
    |--E. bassleri (Petrunkevitch 1942) S93
    |--E. moritura Petrunkevitch 1942 S93
    `--E. stridens Petrunkevitch 1958 S93
  Nactodipoena dunbari Petrunkevitch 1942 S93
  Eodipoena S93
    |--E. consulta Petrunkevitch 1958 S93
    |--E. germanica Petrunkevitch 1958 S93
    |--E. kaestneri Petrunkevitch 1958 S93
    |--E. nielseni Petrunkevitch 1958 S93
    |--E. oculata Petrunkevitch 1942 S93
    `--E. regalis Petrunkevitch 1958 S93
  Nanomysmena S93
    |--N. aculeata Petrunkevitch 1958 S93
    |--N. gracilis Petrunkevitch 1958 S93
    `--N. munita Petrunkevitch 1958 S93
  Astodipoena crassa Petrunkevitch 1958 S93
  Cretotheridion Wunderlich 2015 W19
  Burmatheridion Wunderlich 2018 W19
  Clya P92
  Clythia P92
  Cornitis P92
  Pronepos P92
    |--P. exilis Petrunkevitch 1963 P92
    `--P. fossilis Petrunkevitch 1963 P92
  Cornutidion P92
  Craspedisia P92
  Dipoenata P92
  Stemmops P92
  Styposis P92
  Formicina mutinensis R96

*Nesticodes rufipes (Lucas 1846) PVD10 [=Theridion rufipes FF99; incl. T. bajulans Koch 1875 S99, T. borbonicum Vinson 1864 S99, T. flavoaurantiacum Sim. 1880 S99, T. longipes v. Hasselt 1882 S99, T. luteipes Cambr. 1870 S99]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A02] Agnarsson, I. 2002. Sharing a web—on the relation of sociality and kleptoparasitism in theridiid spiders (Theridiidae, Araneae). Journal of Arachnology 30 (2): 181–188.

[B06] Banks, N. 1906. Arachnida from the Bahamas. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 22: 185–189.

[BS09] Blackledge, T. A., N. Scharff, J. A. Coddington, T. Szüts, J. W. Wenzel, C. Y. Hayashi & I. Agnarsson. 2009. Reconstructing web evolution and spider diversification in the molecular era. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 106 (13): 5229–5234.

[BBM02] Bonte, D., L. Baert & J.-P. Maelfait. 2002. Spider assemblage structure and stability in a heterogeneous coastal dune system (Belgium). Journal of Arachnology 30 (2): 331–343.

[E12] Evenhuis, N. L. 2012. Publication and dating of the Exploration Scientifique de l'Algérie: Histoire Naturelle des Animaux Articulés (1846–1849) by Pierre Hippolyte Lucas. Zootaxa 3448: 1–61.

[FS04] Fitzgerald, B. M., & P. J. Sirvid. 2004. Notes on the genus Phycosoma Cambridge, 1879, senior synonym of Trigonobothrys Simon, 1889 (Theridiidae: Araneae). Tuhinga 15: 7–12.

[F64] Forster, R. R. 1964. The Araneae and Opiliones of the subantarctic islands of New Zealand. Pacific Insects Monograph 7: 58–115.

[FF99] Forster, R., & L. Forster. 1999. Spiders of New Zealand and their World-wide Kin. University of Otago Press: Dunedin (New Zealand).

[GGG04] Garb, J. E., A. González & R. G. Gillespie. 2004. The black widow spider genus Latrodectus (Araneae: Theridiidae): phylogeny, biogeography, and invasion history. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31: 1127–1142.

[HU08] Hore, U., & V. P. Uniyal. 2008. Diversity and composition of spider assemblages in five vegetation types of the Terai Conservation Area, India. Journal of Arachnology 36 (2): 251–258.

[J98] Jäger, P. 1998. Das Typenmaterial der Spinnentiere (Arachnida: Acari, Amblypygi, Araneae, Opiliones, Pseudoscorpiones, Scorpiones, Uropygi) aus dem Museum Wiesbaden. Jahrbuecher des Nassauischen Vereins fuer Naturkunde 119: 81–91.

[JVHN90] Jennings, D. T., W. M. Vander Haegen & A. M. Narahara. 1990. A sampling of forest-floor spiders (Araneae) by expellant, Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Maine. Journal of Arachnology 18: 173–180.

[JD-S07] Jocqué, R., & A. S. Dippenaar-Schoeman. 2007. Spider Families of the World. Royal Museum for Central Africa: Tervuren (Belgium).

[KK90] Koch, L., & E. Keyserling. 1884–1890. Die Arachniden Australiens nach der Natur beschrieben und abgebildet vol. 2. Bauer & Raspe: Nürnberg.

[K02] Koponen, S. 2002. Ground-living spiders in bogs in northern Europe. Journal of Arachnology 30 (2): 262–267.

[L-M-HM11] Lo-Man-Hung, N. F., R. Marichal, D. F. Candiani, L. S. Carvalho, R. P. Indicatti, A. B. Bonaldo, D. H. R. Cobo, A. Feijoo M., S. Tselouiko, C. Praxedes, G. Brown, E. Velasquez, T. Decaëns, J. Oszwald, M. Martins & P. Lavelle. 2011. Impact of different land management on soil spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) in two Amazonian areas of Brazil and Colombia. Journal of Arachnology 39 (2): 296–302.

[MC13] Majer, J. D., S. K. Callan, K. Edwards, N. R. Gunawardene & C. K. Taylor. 2013. Baseline survey of the terrestrial invertebrate fauna of Barrow Island. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 83: 13–112.

[MF11] Mąkol, J., & M. Felska. 2011. New records of spiders (Araneae) as hosts of terrestrial Parasitengona mites (Acari: Actinotrichida: Prostigmata). Journal of Arachnology 39 (2): 352–354.

[M83] Martin, N. A. 1983. Miscellaneous observations on a pasture fauna: An annotated species list. DSIR Entomology Division Report 3: 1–98.

[MG03] Marusik, Yu. M., & E. F. Guseinov. 2003. Spiders (Arachnida: Aranei) of Azerbaijan. 1. New family and genus records. Arthropoda Selecta 12 (1): 29–46.

[NS00] Nicholls, D. C., P. J. Sirvid, S. D. Pollard & M. Walker. 2000. A list of arachnid primary types held in Canterbury Museum. Records of the Canterbury Museum 14: 37–48.

[PVD10] Paquin, P., C. J. Vink & N. Dupérré. 2010. Spiders of New Zealand: annotated family key and species list. Manaaki Whenua Press: Lincoln (New Zealand).

[PO08] Pluess, T., I. Opatovsky, E. Gavish-Regev, Y. Lubin & M. H. Schmidt. 2008. Spiders in wheat fields and semi-desert in the Negev (Israel). Journal of Arachnology 36 (2): 368–373.

[P92] Poinar, G. O., Jr. 1992. Life in Amber. Stanford University Press: Stanford.

[R96] Rainbow, W. J. 1896. Descriptions of some new Araneidae of New South Wales. No. 6. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 21 (3): 320–344, pls 18–20.

[RKD02] Relys, V., S. Koponen & D. Dapkus. 2002. Annual differences and species turnover in peat bog spider communities. Journal of Arachnology 30 (2): 416–424.

[SS02] Samu, F., & C. Szinetár. 2002. On the nature of agrobiont spiders. Journal of Arachnology 30 (2): 389–402.

[S03] Schütt, K. 2003. Phylogeny of Symphytognathidae s.l. (Araneae, Araneoidea). Zoologica Scripta 32 (2): 129–151.

[S93] Selden, P. A. 1993. Arthropoda (Aglaspidida, Pycnogonida and Chelicerata). In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 297–320. Chapman & Hall: London.

[S95] Simon, E. 1895. Arachnides recueillis par Mr G. Potanine en Chine et en Mongolie (1876–1879). Izviestĭia Imperatorskoi Akademĭi Nauk” [Bulletin de l’Academie Imperiale des Sciences de St. Pétersbourg], Ser. 5, 4: 331–345.

[S99] Simon, E. 1899. Ergebnisse einer Reise nach dem Pacific (Schauinsland 1896–1897. Zoologische Jahrbücher, Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie un Biologie der Thiere 12 (4): 411–437.

[T94] Thorell, T. 1894. Förteckning öfver Arachnider från Java och närgränsande öar, insamlade af docenten D:r Carl Aurivillius; jemte beskrifingar å några sydasiatiska och sydamerikanska Spindlar. Bihang till K. Svenska Vetenskaps-Akademiens Handlingar 20 pt 4 (4): 1–63.

[V09] Verdcourt, B. (ed.) 2009. Additions to the Wild Fauna and Flora of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. XXVI. Miscellaneous records. Kew Bulletin 64 (1): 183–194.

[W76] Wunderlich, J. 1976. Zur Spinnenfauna Deutschlands, XVI. Zur Kenntnis der mitteleuropäischen Arten der Gattungen Enoplognatha Pavesi und Robertus O. Pick.-Cambridge (Araneida: Theridiidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 57 (1–3): 97–112.

[W77] Wunderlich, J. 1977. Zur Synonymie südeuropäischer Spinnen (Arachnida: Araneida: Theridiidae, Linyphiidae, Gnaphosidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 57 (4–6): 289–293.

[W19] Wunderlich, J. 2019. What is a spider? Cretaceous fossils modify strongly phylogenetics as well as diagnoses of families, superfamilies and even suborders of spiders (Araneida) and other arthropods. Beiträge zur Araneologie 12: 1–32.

Last updated: 15 January 2022.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Markup Key:
- <b>bold</b> = bold
- <i>italic</i> = italic
- <a href="http://www.fieldofscience.com/">FoS</a> = FoS