''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan

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 below family. In binomial nom ...

cobweb spider Theridiidae, also known as the tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders and comb-footed spiders, is a large family of araneomorph spiders first described by Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1833. This diverse, globally distributed family includes over 3,000 sp ...

s (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectrum from solitary to highly social (quasisocial), with eight quasisocial species, far more than any other spider genus. Among these is the South American social species ''

Anelosimus eximius ''Anelosimus eximius'' is a species of social spider in the genus ''Anelosimus'', native to the Lesser Antilles and the area from Panama to Argentina. Colonies can comprise several thousand individuals. Habitat and distribution The natural ran ...

'', among the best studied social spider species. The web of a colony of ''A. eximius'' can reach cover entire tree canopies and contain tens of thousands of individuals. Most of the highly social species live in lowland tropical forests, and all occur in the Americas. Other species, particularly those at higher altitudes in northern latitudes in the Americas and all non-American species appear to be solitary or sub-social. Social ''Anelosimus'' species are generally highly inbred and have female-biased sex ratios, with up to 10 females per male. The social, subsocial, and solitary behavior of differing species within ''Anelosimus'' has been used to examine hypotheses of environmental pressures on social behavior, and inbreeding. Subsociality as a trait seems to be conserved, despite the wide range of environments in which ''Anelosimus'' species live; all known solitary species within the genus belong to a single clade. Sociality, however, has independently arisen several times.

Description

''Anelosimus'' spiders have a notched red or brown band on their abdomen, which is dark when preserved in alcohol. Laterally, the abdomen has a white band and/or white blotches. Specimens range in size from . Individuals in this genus lack a colulus.

Species

, 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 ...

accepted the following species: *'' Anelosimus agnar'' Agnarsson, 2006 – Malaysia *''

Anelosimus amelie ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectr ...

'' Agnarsson, 2009 – Comoro Is. *'' Anelosimus analyticus'' (Chamberlin, 1924) – USA, Mexico *''

Anelosimus andasibe ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectr ...

'' Agnarsson & Kuntner, 2005 – Madagascar *''

Anelosimus arizona ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectr ...

'' Agnarsson, 2006 – USA, Mexico *''

Anelosimus ata ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectr ...

'' Agnarsson, Kuntner & Jencik, 2015 – Madagascar *''

Anelosimus baeza ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectr ...

'' Agnarsson, 2006 – Mexico to Brazil *''

Anelosimus bali ''Anelosimus bali'' is a species of spider found in Bali, Indonesia, after which the species is named. It is a coastal species, found in small-leaved mangrove trees along the beach. The holotype is female and long. No male specimens have been ...

'' Agnarsson, 2012 – Bali *''

Anelosimus biglebowski ''Anelosimus biglebowski'' is a species of spider in the family Theridiidae. All specimens known have been found in the Udzungwa Scarp Forest Reserve The Udzungwa Mountains are a mountain range in south-central Tanzania. The mountains are mo ...

'' Agnarsson, 2006 – Tanzania *''

Anelosimus buffoni ''Anelosimus buffoni'' is a species of tangle-web spiders in the Madagascar group of the genus ''Anelosimus''. It is known only from Périnet Special Reserve, Toamasina Province, Madagascar. Adults of the species have a total length of 4.1mm ...

'' Agnarsson, Kuntner & Jencik, 2015 – Madagascar *''

Anelosimus chickeringi ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectr ...

'' Levi, 1956 – Mexico to Peru *''

Anelosimus chonganicus ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectr ...

'' Zhu, 1998 – China *''

Anelosimus crassipes ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectr ...

'' (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906) – China, Korea, Japan, Ryukyu Is. *''

Anelosimus darwini ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' Agnarsson, Kuntner & Jencik, 2015 – Madagascar *''

Anelosimus decaryi ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectr ...

'' (Fage, 1930) – Aldabra, Madagascar, Comoro Is. *''

Anelosimus dialeucon ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectr ...

'' (Simon, 1890) – Aden *''

Anelosimus domingo ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectr ...

'' Levi, 1963 – Colombia to Suriname and Peru *''

Anelosimus dubiosus ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' (Keyserling, 1891) – Brazil *''

Anelosimus dubius ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' (Tullgren, 1910) – Tanzania *''

Anelosimus dude ''Anelosimus dude'' is a species of spider in the family Theridiidae. It is native to Tanzania, having only been found in the Udzungwa Scarp Forest ReserveIn the publication of the find, Agnarsson and Zhang (2006), this was described as "Uzungw ...

'' Agnarsson, 2006 – Tanzania *''

Anelosimus eidur ''Anelosimus eidur'' is a species of tangle-web spider found in Papua New Guinea. Its habitat is high elevation scrub forest, in Southern Highlands Province and Enga Province Enga is one of the provinces in Papua New Guinea (PNG). It is loca ...

'' Agnarsson, 2012 – New Guinea *''

Anelosimus elegans ''Anelosimus elegans'' is a species of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae Theridiidae, also known as the tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders and comb-footed spiders, is a large family of araneomorph spiders first described by Carl Jakob Sundevall in ...

'' Agnarsson, 2006 – Mexico to Peru *''

Anelosimus ethicus ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' (Keyserling, 1884) – Brazil *''

Anelosimus exiguus ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectr ...

'' Yoshida, 1986 – China, Japan, Ryukyu Is. *''

'' (Keyserling, 1884) (

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specim ...

) – Lesser Antilles, Panama to Argentina *'' Anelosimus fraternus'' Bryant, 1948 – Hispaniola *''

Anelosimus guacamayos ''Anelosimus guacamayos'' is a species of social cobweb spider that occurs in the lower Ecuadorian sierra. The live in large nests (1–2 meters in width), and are found in Disturbance (ecology), disturbed areas. Like rain forest cobweb spiders, ...

'' Agnarsson, 2006 – Ecuador *''

Anelosimus hookeri ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' Agnarsson, Kuntner & Jencik, 2015 – Madagascar *'' Anelosimus huxleyi'' Agnarsson, Veve & Kuntner, 2015 – Madagascar *'' Anelosimus inhandava'' Agnarsson, 2005 – Brazil, Argentina *'' Anelosimus iwawakiensis'' Yoshida, 1986 – Korea, Japan *''

Anelosimus jabaquara ''Anelosimus jabaquara'' is a species of spider found in subtropical, humid, lowland forests in Brazil. ''Anelosimus jabaquara'' was first described by Herbert W. Levi in 1956. These spiders cooperate to spin and repair the colonial web, capture ...

'' Levi, 1956 – Brazil *'' Anelosimus jucundus'' (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1896) – Mexico to Argentina *'' Anelosimus kohi'' Yoshida, 1993 – Malaysia, Singapore *'' Anelosimus lamarcki'' Agnarsson & Goh, 2015 – Madagascar *'' Anelosimus linda'' Agnarsson, 2006 – Malaysia *'' Anelosimus lorenzo'' Fowler & Levi, 1979 – Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina *'' Anelosimus luckyi'' Agnarsson, 2012 – New Guinea *'' Anelosimus may'' Agnarsson, 2005 – Madagascar *''

Anelosimus membranaceus ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' Zhang, Liu & Zhang, 2011 – China *'' Anelosimus misiones'' Agnarsson, 2005 – Argentina *'' Anelosimus monskenyensis'' Agnarsson, 2006 – Kenya *''

Anelosimus moramora ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' Agnarsson, Kuntner & Jencik, 2015 – Madagascar *'' Anelosimus nazariani'' Agnarsson & Kuntner, 2005 – Madagascar *''

Anelosimus nelsoni ''Anelosimus nelsoni'' is a species of spider in the family Theridiidae. It is only known from iSimangaliso Wetland Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is named for Nelson Mandela. The male holotype specimen is in length, and the female pa ...

'' Agnarsson, 2006 – South Africa *'' Anelosimus nigrescens'' (Keyserling, 1884) – Guyana, Brazil *'' Anelosimus octavius'' Agnarsson, 2006 – Mexico to Costa Rica *''

Anelosimus oritoyacu ''Anelosimus oritoyacu'' is a species of tangle-web spider found in Ecuador and Mexico at altitudes from . It is subsocial, although it has some features which distinguish it from other social or subsocial spiders in the genus. It has long-live ...

'' Agnarsson, 2006 – Mexico to Ecuador *'' Anelosimus pacificus'' Levi, 1956 – Mexico to Costa Rica, Jamaica *''

Anelosimus pantanal ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' Agnarsson, 2006 – Brazil *'' Anelosimus placens'' (Blackwall, 1877) – Seychelles *'' Anelosimus pomio'' Agnarsson, 2012 – New Britain *'' Anelosimus potmosbi'' Agnarsson, 2012 – New Guinea *'' Anelosimus pratchetti'' Agnarsson, 2012 – New South Wales *'' Anelosimus pulchellus'' (Walckenaer, 1802) – Europe to Russia, Iran, North Africa *'' Anelosimus puravida'' Agnarsson, 2006 – Guatemala to Panama *'' Anelosimus rabus'' Levi, 1963 – Brazil *''

Anelosimus rupununi ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' Levi, 1956 – Trinidad to Brazil *''

Anelosimus sallee ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' Agnarsson & Kuntner, 2005 – Madagascar *''

Anelosimus salut ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' Agnarsson & Kuntner, 2005 – Madagascar *'' Anelosimus seximaculatus'' (Zhu, 1998) – China *''

Anelosimus studiosus ''Anelosimus studiosus'' is a subsocial tangle web spider or theridiid spider living in both North America and South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with ...

'' (Hentz, 1850) – USA to Argentina *''

Anelosimus subcrassipes ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' Zhang, Liu & Zhang, 2011 – China *'' Anelosimus sulawesi'' Agnarsson, 2006 – Sulawesi *''

Anelosimus sumisolena ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' Agnarsson, 2005 – Brazil *''

Anelosimus taiwanicus ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' Yoshida, 1986 – Taiwan, Krakatau *'' Anelosimus terraincognita'' Agnarsson, 2012 – possibly Australasia *'' Anelosimus tita'' Agnarsson, Kuntner & Jencik, 2015 – Madagascar *''

Anelosimus torfi ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' Agnarsson, 2015 – Madagascar *'' Anelosimus tosus'' (Chamberlin, 1916) – Mexico to Peru *''

Anelosimus vierae ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' Agnarsson, 2012 – Uruguay *'' Anelosimus vittatus'' (C. L. Koch, 1836) – Palearctic *'' Anelosimus vondrona'' Agnarsson & Kuntner, 2005 – Madagascar *''

Anelosimus wallacei ''Anelosimus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. ''Anelosimus'' is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders (Aviles 1997). It contains species spanning the spectru ...

'' Agnarsson, Veve & Kuntner, 2015 – Madagascar

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2446287 Theridiidae Araneomorphae genera Cosmopolitan spiders