''Cheiracanthium punctorium'', one of several species commonly known as the yellow sac spider, is a spider found from central

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. They reach a length of about 15 mm, and their bite can penetrate human skin; the bite has been compared to a wasp sting, perhaps a bit more severe, although susceptible persons can have stronger reactions, like

nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat. Over 30 d ...

. Females build an egg sac of about 4 cm in high grass. It opens below and is aggressively defended. In

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

it is the only "seriously" venomous spider, but is a rare species, occurring chiefly in the southern half. Notable numbers are found in the Kaiserstuhl region, the hottest part of the country. There is evidence that the species is spreading in northeastern Germany, e.g.

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

. The main reason is an increase in fallow, uncultivated land in these areas, though changing weather patterns leading to increased

arid Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...

ity and less

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

may also play a role. ''C. punctorium'' is most numerous in the

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

s of

. The genus ''Cheiracanthium'' was transferred from the Clubionidae to the

Miturgidae Miturgidae is a family of araneomorph spiders that includes nearly 170 species in 29 genera worldwide. First described by Eugène Simon in 1886, it has been substantially revised, and includes the previous family Zoridae as a synonym, and exclude ...

,Platnick 2007 and then to the Cheiracanthiidae.

Footnotes

References

* (2007)
''The world spider catalog''
version 8.0. American Museum of Natural History.

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q472994 punctorium Spiders of Asia Spiders of Europe Spiders described in 1789 Taxa named by Charles Joseph Devillers