''Artema atlanta'' is a species of spider of the family
Pholcidae
The Pholcidae are a family of araneomorph spiders. The family contains over 1,800 individual species of pholcids, including those commonly known as cellar spider, daddy long-legs spider, carpenter spider, daddy long-legger, vibrating spid ...
with a pantropical distribution. It is commonly known as the giant daddy-long-legs spider, in Australia
[ and South Africa.][ With a body length of 8–11 mm, it is the largest pholcid in the world.][
]
Description
Specimens of both sexes have a body length of 8–11 mm.[ Their first pair of legs is roughly 6.5 times the length of the body.][
]
Distribution
''A. atlanta'' can be found in all tropical regions, such as the Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...
, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
[ and ]Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.[ It can be found on every continent (apart from Antarctica).][ It has been introduced into Belgium (]Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, ),[ and North America, where (as of 2009) colonies can be found in southern Arizona and southeastern California in the ]United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.[ Two spiders were found in a shipping container which arrived in England in 2004.][
It is suggested that the species originates from the Old World, although it was first described from Brazil.][
]
References
Further reading
* van Keer, K. & van Keer, J. (2001): Ingeburgerde exotische trilspinnen (Araneae: Pholcidae) in Antwerpse haven en enkele algemene bedenkingen bij spinnenmigratie. Nwsbr. Belg. Arachnol. Ver. 16(3): 81–86.
External links
* PaDIL
Diagnostic images
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4323544
Pholcidae
Spiders of Europe
Spiders described in 1837
Spiders of Africa
Pantropical spiders