Ground spiders comprise Gnaphosidae, the seventh largest spider family with over 2,000 described
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
in over 100
genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
distributed worldwide. There are 105 species known to central
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, and common genera include ''
Gnaphosa
''Gnaphosa'' is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by Pierre André Latreille in 1804. They all have a serrated keel on the retromargin of each chelicera.
Species
it contains 148 species:
*'' G. aborigena'' Tyschchenko, 1965 ...
'', ''
Drassodes
''Drassodes'' is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by Niklas Westring in 1851. They are brown, gray, and red spiders that live under rocks or bark in mostly dry habitats, and are generally long, but can reach up to in length.
...
'', ''
Micaria
''Micaria'' is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by Niklas Westring in 1851. They are long.
They are often called "ant spiders" due to their ant-like appearance and ant mimicking behavior.
Species
it contains 105 species an ...
'', ''
Cesonia
''Cesonia'' is a genus of Gnaphosidae, ground spiders that was first described by Eugène Simon in 1893.
Species
it contains thirty-one species:
*''Cesonia aspida'' Chatzaki, 2002 – Greece (Crete), Turkey
*''Cesonia bilineata'' (Hentz, 1847) ...
'', ''
Zelotes
''Zelotes'' is a genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and bel ...
'' and many others. They are closely related to
Clubionidae
The sac spiders of the family Clubionidae have a very confusing taxonomic history. Once, this family was a large catch-all taxon for a disparate collection of spiders, similar only in that they had eight eyes arranged in two rows and conical anter ...
.
At present, no ground spiders are known to be seriously venomous to humans.
Description
Generally, ground spiders are characterized by having barrel-shaped anterior spinnerets that are one spinneret diameter apart. The main exception to this rule is found in the
ant-mimicking genus ''Micaria''. Another characteristic is an indentation in the endites (paired mouthparts anterior and lateral to the labium, or lip). All ground spiders lack a prey-capture web and generally run prey down on the surface. They hunt at night and spend the day in a silken retreat.
[ The genitalia are diverse and are a good model for studying the evolution of genitalia because of their peculiar copulatory mechanism. The thick-walled egg sacs are guarded by the mother until the spiderlings hatch.][
]
Hunting behavior
Ground spiders hunt by active foraging, chasing down and subduing individual prey items. They are adapted to hunting large and potentially dangerous prey, including other spiders, which they subdue by using their silk. When hunting, ground spiders produce thick, gluey silk from their enlarged spinnerets and attempt to use it to entangle their prey in swathing attacks, often applying their webbing to their prey's legs and mouths. By immobilizing potential prey in this manner, ground spiders can subdue proportionally large creatures while reducing risk of injury to themselves from their prey's attempts to fight back.
Genera
, the World Spider Catalog
The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...
accepts the following genera:
*''Allomicythus
''Allomicythus'' is a monotypic genus of Southeast Asian ground spiders containing the single species, ''Allomicythus kamurai''. It was first described by H. Ono in 2009, and has only been found in Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Vi ...
'' Ono, 2009 — Vietnam
*''Allozelotes
''Allozelotes'' is a genus of East Asian ground spiders that was first described by C. M. Yin & X. J. Peng in 1998.
Species
it contains four species, all found in China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a coun ...
'' Yin & Peng, 1998 — China
*'' Almafuerte'' Grismado & Carrión, 2017 — Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay
*'' Amazoromus'' Brescovit & Höfer, 1994 — Brazil
*''Ammoxenus
''Ammoxenus'' is a genus of African termite hunters first described by Eugène Simon
Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects and spiders, but also on birds an ...
'' Simon, 1893
*''Amusia
Amusia is a musical disorder that appears mainly as a defect in processing pitch but also encompasses musical memory and recognition. Two main classifications of amusia exist: acquired amusia, which occurs as a result of brain damage, and con ...
'' Tullgren, 1910 — South Africa, East Africa
*''Anagraphis
''Anagraphis'' is a genus of Gnaphosidae, ground spiders that was first described by Eugène Simon in 1893. Originally placed in the now unrecognized family Prodidomidae, it was moved to the family Gnaphosidae in 2006.
Species
it contains seven ...
'' Simon, 1893 — Africa, Asia, Europe
*''Anagrina
''Anagrina'' is a genus of African long-spinneret ground spiders that was first described by Lucien Berland
Lucien Berland (14 May 1888 in Ay, Marne – 18 August 1962 in Versailles)Jean-Jacques Amigo, « Berland (Lucien) », in Nouveau Dic ...
'' Berland, 1920 — Niger
*''Aneplasa
''Aneplasa'' is a genus of Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it cov ...
'' Tucker, 1923 — South Africa, Angola
*''Anzacia
''Anzacia'' is a genus of Oceania, South Pacific Gnaphosidae, ground spiders that was first described by R. de Dalmas in 1919.
Species
it contains fifteen species:
*''Anzacia daviesae'' Ovtsharenko & Norman I. Platnick, Platnick, 1995 – Austr ...
'' Dalmas, 1919 — Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea
*''Aphantaulax
''Aphantaulax'' is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by Eugène Simon in 1878.
Species
it contains seventeen species:
*'' Aphantaulax albini'' (Audouin, 1826) ( type) – Egypt, Ethiopia
*'' Aphantaulax australis'' Simon, 1893 ...
'' Simon, 1878 — Asia, Africa, Australia, France
*''Apodrassodes
''Apodrassodes'' is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by J. Vellard in 1924.
Species
it contains ten species:
*'' Apodrassodes araucanius'' (Chamberlin, 1916) – Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile
*'' Apodrassodes chula'' Bresc ...
'' Vellard, 1924 — South America, Mexico, India
*''Apodrassus
''Apodrassus'' is a monotypic genus of South American ground spiders containing the single species, ''Apodrassus andinus''. It was first described by R. V. Chamberlin in 1916, and has only been found in Peru
, image_flag = Fl ...
'' Chamberlin, 1916 — Peru
*''Aponetius
''Aponetius'' is a genus of east Asian ground spiders. It was first described by T. Kamura in 2020, and it has only been found in Japan. The type species, ''Aponetius gladius'', was originally described under the name "''Zelotes gladius"''.
Speci ...
'' Kamura, 2020 — Ryukyu Is.
*''Apopyllus
''Apopyllus'' is a genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and bel ...
'' Platnick & Shadab, 1984 — South America, Mexico
*''Arauchemus
''Arauchemus'' is a genus of South American ground spiders that was first described by R. Ott & Antônio Brescovit in 2012. it contains only two species, both found in Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of ...
'' Ott & Brescovit, 2012 — Brazil
*'' Asemesthes'' Simon, 1887 — Africa
*'' Asiabadus'' Roewer, 1961 — Afghanistan
*'' Australoechemus'' Schmidt & Piepho, 1994 — Cape Verde Is.
*'' Austrammo'' Platnick, 2002
*'' Avstroneulanda'' Zakharov & Ovtsharenko, 2022
*'' Barrowammo'' Platnick, 2002
*'' Benoitodes'' Platnick, 1993 — St. Helena
*'' Berinda'' Roewer, 1928 — Greece, Turkey, Cyprus
*'' Berlandina'' Dalmas, 1922 — Asia, Africa, Europe
*'' Cabanadrassus'' Mello-Leitão, 1941 — Argentina
*'' Callilepis'' Westring, 1874 — Asia, North America, Europe
*'' Callipelis'' Zamani & Marusik, 2017 — Iran
*'' Camillina'' Berland, 1919 — Asia, Central America, South America, Africa, North America, Italy, Caribbean
*'' Canariognapha'' Wunderlich, 2011 — Canary Is.
*'' Ceryerda'' Simon, 1909 — Australia
*''Cesonia
''Cesonia'' is a genus of Gnaphosidae, ground spiders that was first described by Eugène Simon in 1893.
Species
it contains thirty-one species:
*''Cesonia aspida'' Chatzaki, 2002 – Greece (Crete), Turkey
*''Cesonia bilineata'' (Hentz, 1847) ...
'' Simon, 1893 — Greece, Turkey, North America, Central America, Caribbean
*'' Chatzakia'' Lissner & Bosmans, 2016 — Spain
*'' Civizelotes'' Senglet, 2012 — Asia, Morocco, Europe
*'' Cladothela'' Kishida, 1928 — Japan, China, Korea
*'' Coillina'' Yin & Peng, 1998 — China
*'' Coreodrassus'' Paik, 1984 — Asia
*'' Cryptodrassus'' Miller, 1943 — Europe, Asia
*'' Cryptoerithus'' Rainbow, 1915 — Australia
*'' Cubanopyllus'' Alayón & Platnick, 1993 — Cuba
*'' Diaphractus'' Purcell, 1907 — South Africa, Namibia
*''Drassodes
''Drassodes'' is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by Niklas Westring in 1851. They are brown, gray, and red spiders that live under rocks or bark in mostly dry habitats, and are generally long, but can reach up to in length.
...
'' Westring, 1851 — Africa, South America, Asia, Europe, North America
*'' Drassodex'' Murphy, 2007 — Spain, France, Switzerland
*'' Drassyllus'' Chamberlin, 1922 — North America, Asia, Europe
*''Echemella
''Echemella'' is a genus of African Gnaphosidae, ground spiders that was first described by Embrik Strand in 1906.
Species
it contains six species, mostly from Ethiopia:
*''Echemella occulta'' (Benoit, 1965) – Congo
*''Echemella pavesii'' (Eu ...
'' Strand, 1906 — Congo, Ethiopia
*'' Echemographis'' Caporiacco, 1955 — Venezuela
*'' Echemoides'' Mello-Leitão, 1938 — South America
*''Echemus
In Greek mythology, Echemus (; grc, Ἔχεμος, ''Ekhemos'') was the Tegean king of Arcadia who succeeded Lycurgus.
Family
Echemus was the son of Aeropus, son of King Cepheus.Pausanias8.5.1/ref> He was married to Timandra, daughter of ...
'' Simon, 1878 — Sweden, Asia, Australia, Africa, Brazil
*'' Eilica'' Keyserling, 1891 — Australia, South America, United States, Central America, Caribbean, Africa, India
*'' Encoptarthria'' Main, 1954 — Australia
*'' Epicharitus'' Rainbow, 1916 — Australia
*'' Fedotovia'' Charitonov, 1946 — Mongolia, Iran, Afghanistan
*'' Gaviphosa'' Sankaran, 2021 — India
*'' Gertschosa'' Platnick & Shadab, 1981 — North America, Panama, Jamaica
*''Gnaphosa
''Gnaphosa'' is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by Pierre André Latreille in 1804. They all have a serrated keel on the retromargin of each chelicera.
Species
it contains 148 species:
*'' G. aborigena'' Tyschchenko, 1965 ...
'' Latreille, 1804 — Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, Guatemala, Cuba
*'' Haplodrassus'' Chamberlin, 1922 — Europe, Asia, North America, Africa
*'' Herpyllus'' Hentz, 1832 — Argentina, North America, Asia
*'' Heser'' Tuneva, 2004 — Asia, Spain, Africa, North America
*'' Hitobia'' Kamura, 1992 — Asia
*'' Homoeothele'' Simon, 1908 — Australia
*'' Hongkongia'' Song & Zhu, 1998 — Indonesia, China, Hong Kong
*'' Hypodrassodes'' Dalmas, 1919 — New Zealand, Australia
*'' Ibala'' Fitzpatrick, 2009 — Africa
*'' Intruda'' Forster, 1979 — Australia, New Zealand
*'' Iranotricha'' Zamani & Marusik, 2018 — Iran
*'' Kaitawa'' Forster, 1979 — New Zealand
*''Kikongo
Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Angola. It is a tonal language. It was spoken by many of those who were taken from th ...
'' Rodrigues & Rheims, 2020 — D.R. Congo, Kenya
*'' Kishidaia'' Yaginuma, 1960 — Asia, Italy
*'' Kituba'' Rodrigues & Rheims, 2020 — D.R. Congo
*''Ladissa
''Ladissa'' is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by Eugène Simon in 1907.
Species
it contains four species in India and Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in ...
'' Simon, 1907 — Sierra Leone, India, Benin
*'' Laronius'' Platnick & Deeleman-Reinhold, 2001 — Thailand, Indonesia
*''Lasophorus
''Lasophorus'' is a genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and be ...
'' Chatzaki, 2018 — Greece
*'' Latica'' da Silva, Guerrero, Bidegaray-Batista & Simó, 2020 — Uruguay, Argentina
*'' Latonigena'' Simon, 1893 — South America
*'' Leptodrassex'' Murphy, 2007 — Africa, Europe, Asia
*'' Leptodrassus'' Simon, 1878 — Europe, Asia, Africa, Mexico
*'' Leptopilos'' Levy, 2009 — Greece, Asia, Libya
*'' Litopyllus'' Chamberlin, 1922 — United States, Cuba, Mexico
*'' Macarophaeus'' Wunderlich, 2011 — Canary Is., Madeira
*'' Marinarozelotes'' Ponomarev, 2020 — Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America
*''Marjanus
''Marjanus'' is a genus of ground spiders containing the single species, ''Marjanus platnicki''. It was first described by M. Chatzaki in 2018, and is only found in Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, i ...
'' Chatzaki, 2018
*'' Matua'' Forster, 1979 — New Zealand
*'' Megamyrmaekion'' Reuss, 1834 — Africa, Asia, Australia
*''Micaria
''Micaria'' is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by Niklas Westring in 1851. They are long.
They are often called "ant spiders" due to their ant-like appearance and ant mimicking behavior.
Species
it contains 105 species an ...
'' Westring, 1851 — Asia, North America, Africa, Europe, Australia
*'' Microdrassus'' Dalmas, 1919 — Seychelles
*'' Microsa'' Platnick & Shadab, 1977 — Cuba
*''Micythus
Micythus ( grc, Μίκυθος), son of Choerus, was a 5th-century BC tyrant of Rhegium (modern Reggio Calabria), Zancle (modern Messina). He also founded the city of Pyxus (c. 471 BC).
He was at first a slave in the service of Anaxilas, tyrant ...
'' Thorell, 1897 — Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia
*''Minosia
''Minosia'' is a genus of Gnaphosidae, ground spiders that was first described by R. de Dalmas in 1921.
Species
it contains thirteen species and one subspecies:
*''Minosia assimilis'' Lodovico di Caporiacco, Caporiacco, 1941 – Ethiopia, Ugand ...
'' Dalmas, 1921 — Africa, Asia, Europe
*'' Minosiella'' Dalmas, 1921 — Asia, Africa
*'' Molycria'' Simon, 1887 — Australia
*'' Montebello'' Hogg, 1914 — Australia
*'' Myandra'' Simon, 1887 — Australia
*'' Nauhea'' Forster, 1979 — New Zealand
*'' Neodrassex'' Ott, 2012 — Brazil, Argentina
*'' Nodocion'' Chamberlin, 1922 — North America, India
*'' Nomindra'' Platnick & Baehr, 2006 — Australia
*'' Nomisia'' Dalmas, 1921 — Asia, Africa, Europe
*'' Notiodrassus'' Bryant, 1935 — New Zealand
*''Odontodrassus
''Odontodrassus'' is a genus of Gnaphosidae, ground spiders that was first described by J.-F. Jézéquel in 1965.
Species
it contains eight species:
*''Odontodrassus aphanes'' (Tamerlan Thorell, Thorell, 1897) – Seychelles, Myanmar to Japan, ...
'' Jézéquel, 1965 — Africa, Asia, Jamaica
*'' Orodrassus'' Chamberlin, 1922 — United States, Canada
*'' Parabonna'' Mello-Leitão, 1947 — Brazil
*'' Parasyrisca'' Schenkel, 1963 — Europe, Asia, North America
*'' Phaeocedus'' Simon, 1893 — Asia, Europe
*'' Poecilochroa'' Westring, 1874 — Asia, Africa, South America, Europe
*'' Pseudodrassus'' Caporiacco, 1935 — China, Libya, Turkey
*'' Pterotricha'' Kulczyński, 1903 — Africa, Asia, Europe
*'' Pterotrichina'' Dalmas, 1921 — Algeria
*'' Rastellus'' Platnick & Griffin, 1990
*'' Sanitubius'' Kamura, 2001 — China, Korea, Japan
*''Scopoides
''Scopoides'' is a genus of Gnaphosidae, ground spiders that was first described by Norman I. Platnick in 1989.
Species
it contains fifteen species:
*''Scopoides asceticus'' (Chamberlin, 1924) – Mexico
*''Scopoides bryantae'' (Platnick & Shad ...
'' Platnick, 1989 — North America, Asia
*'' Scotocesonia'' Caporiacco, 1947 — Guyana
*'' Scotognapha'' Dalmas, 1920 — Canary Islands
*'' Scotophaeus'' Simon, 1893 — Europe, Africa, Asia, South America, New Zealand
*'' Sergiolus'' Simon, 1892 — North America, Caribbean, Asia
*'' Sernokorba'' Kamura, 1992 — Asia, Europe
*'' Setaphis'' Simon, 1893 — Spain, Africa, Asia
*''Shaitan
' (; ''devils'' or ''demons''), singular: (شَيْطَان) are evil spirits in Islam, inciting humans (and jinn) to sin by "whispering" (وَسْوَسَة, “waswasah”) to their qalb, hearts (قَلْب ''qalb''). Folklore suggests that t ...
'' Kovblyuk, Kastrygina & Marusik, 2013
*'' Shiragaia'' Paik, 1992 — Korea
*'' Sidydrassus'' Esyunin & Tuneva, 2002 — Asia
*'' Smionia'' Dalmas, 1920 — South Africa
*'' Solitudes'' Lin & Li, 2020 — China
*'' Sosticus'' Chamberlin, 1922 — North America, Asia
*'' Symphanodes'' Rainbow, 1916 — Australia
*'' Synaphosus'' Platnick & Shadab, 1980 — Asia, Africa, North America, Greece
*'' Talanites'' Simon, 1893 — Asia, North America, Ukraine
*'' Talanitoides'' Levy, 2009 — Israel
*''Titus
Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death.
Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...
'' O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1901 — Zimbabwe
*'' Trachyzelotes'' Lohmander, 1944 — Europe, Asia, North America, Africa, South America, Samoa
*'' Trephopoda'' Tucker, 1923 — South Africa, Namibia
*'' Trichothyse'' Tucker, 1923 — South Africa, Namibia
*'' Turkozelotes'' Kovblyuk & Seyyar, 2009 — Greece, Asia
*'' Urozelotes'' Mello-Leitão, 1938 — Zambia, Europe, Asia
*'' Verita'' Ramírez & Grismado, 2016 — Argentina
*'' Wesmaldra'' Platnick & Baehr, 2006 — Australia
*'' Wydundra'' Platnick & Baehr, 2006 — Australia, Malaysia
*'' Xerophaeus'' Purcell, 1907 — Africa, Yemen
*'' Xizangiana'' Song, Zhu & Zhang, 2004 — China
*''Yoruba
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
'' Rodrigues & Rheims, 2020 — Nigeria, Ivory Coast
*'' Zagrotes'' Zamani, Chatzaki, Esyunin & Marusik, 2021 — Iran
*'' Zelanda'' Özdikmen, 2009 — New Zealand
*'' Zelominor'' Snazell & Murphy, 1997 — Portugal, Spain, Algeria
*''Zelotes
''Zelotes'' is a genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and bel ...
'' Gistel, 1848 — Asia, North America, Europe, Africa, South America, Australia, Caribbean
*'' Zelotibia'' Russell-Smith & Murphy, 2005 — Africa
*'' Zelowan'' Murphy & Russell-Smith, 2010 — Congo, Burundi, Namibia
*'' Zimiromus'' Banks, 1914 — Central America, South America, Caribbean, Mexico
Gallery
File:Ground-spider-frontal-mze.jpg, Unidentified species.
File:Spinnerets.jpg, Spinnerets of an Eastern parson spider (''Herpyllus ecclesiasticus'') in the family Gnaphosidae.
File:SpiderEnditesAndLabium.jpg, Endites and labium (also fangs and sternum) of an Eastern parson spider.
See also
* List of Gnaphosidae species
This page lists all described genera and species of the spider family Gnaphosidae. , the World Spider Catalog accepts 3059 species in 158 genera:
A ''Allomicythus''
''Allomicythus'' Ono, 2009
* '' Allomicythus kamurai'' Ono, 2009 ( type) — V ...
References
* (1983): A revision of the American spiders of the genus ''Zelotes'' (Araneae, Gnaphosidae). ''Bulletin of the AMNH'' 174: 99-191
PDF (29Mb)
Abstract
External links
Pictures of ''Herpyllus ecclesiastus''
(free for noncommercial use)
* AMNH
A video of Sergiolus, a ground spider in Texas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ground Spider
*