Sphodros rufipes
| Sphodros rufipes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male S. rufipes | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Mygalomorphae |
| Family: | Atypidae |
| Genus: | Sphodros |
| Species: | S. rufipes |
| Binomial name | |
| Sphodros rufipes (Latreille, 1829) | |
| Synonyms | |
| Atypus rufipes | |
Sphodros rufipes, sometimes called the red legged purseweb spider, is a mygalomorph spider from the southern and eastern United States, though it has been photographed as far north as Minnesota. It has confirmed sightings in Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey, West Virginia, Tennessee, Delaware, Louisiana, and Tuckernuck Island in Massachusetts. One recent sighting shows that these spiders can also be found in Canada, while another reveals that they've been spotted in Kansas.[1]
The species name rufipes is Latin for "red foot."
This spider is also sometimes known as Sphodros (Atypus) bicolor, a synonym.
Description
[edit]These spiders are solid and strong-looking with black bodies. The males have distinctive long red or red-orange legs, and the females have black legs. Females are known to reach a length of about 25 mm, or just under an inch, though they may also get slightly larger. Like other spiders in its infraorder mygalomorph, it has fangs that point straight down rather than crossing.
Behavior
[edit]This spider has a distinctive method of catching its prey. It spins a tunnel of silk against the side of a tree or supported by stones or other convenient objects, and waits for its prey to land or climb on the side of the tunnel. Then the spider bites through the silk walls and pulls the prey inside. These spiders rarely leave their webs for any reason other than mating.
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A male Sphodros rufipes, showing its large vertical fangs in a threat display -
Sphodros species tube
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Notes
[edit]- ^ What's That Bug: Sphodros rufipes Archived 2005-11-24 at the Wayback Machine
References
[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)
- Platnick, Norman I. (2009): The world spider catalog, version 9.5. American Museum of Natural History.
External links
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