''Crossopriza lyoni'' is a widespread
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...
of
cellar spiders that prefer to live
in or around human structures. They are commonly known as tailed cellar spiders, tailed daddy longlegs spiders, and sometimes box spiders. They all possess extremely long fragile legs that can reach up to long and a body length of that ranges from . Their abdomens are distinctly squarish when viewed from the side and their
carapace
A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the und ...
is more or less circular when viewed from above. They also possess two kinds of
sound-producing organs and have six eyes.
The original
range
Range may refer to:
Geography
* Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra)
** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands
* Range, a term used to i ...
of ''C. lyoni'' is unknown. They have been
introduced into other parts of the world accidentally and are now
pantropical
A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and '' Bacopa''.
'' Neotropical'' is a zoogeographic t ...
in distribution. They are a
regulated species in some countries and are often regarded as
pest
Pest or The Pest may refer to:
Science and medicine
* Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns
** Weed, a plant considered undesirable
* Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection
** ...
s due to the large amounts of unsightly
web
Web most often refers to:
* Spider web, a silken structure created by the animal
* World Wide Web or the Web, an Internet-based hypertext system
Web, WEB, or the Web may also refer to:
Computing
* WEB, a literate programming system created b ...
s they construct inside human homes. Some people, however, regard them as beneficial, as they are efficient predators of
mosquito
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning "gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "lit ...
es and other
arthropod
Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...
s. They are harmless to humans.
Taxonomy and nomenclature
''Crossopriza lyoni'' are classified under the
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 n ...
''
Crossopriza'' and the
subfamily Holocneminae. They belong to the cellar spider 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 spi ...
).
They are commonly referred to as tailed daddy longlegs spiders, tailed cellar spiders, or (more rarely) box spiders. ''C. lyoni'' and other cellar spiders are also often confused with two other invertebrates - the
harvestmen
The Opiliones (formerly Phalangida) are an Order (biology), order of arachnids Common name, colloquially known as harvestmen, harvesters, harvest spiders, or daddy longlegs. , over 6,650 species of harvestmen have been discovered worldwide, alth ...
(
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...
Opiliones
The Opiliones (formerly Phalangida) are an order of arachnids colloquially known as harvestmen, harvesters, harvest spiders, or daddy longlegs. , over 6,650 species of harvestmen have been discovered worldwide, although the total number of ext ...
) and the
crane flies
Crane fly is a common name referring to any member of the insect family Tipulidae. Cylindrotominae, Limoniinae, and Pediciinae have been ranked as subfamilies of Tipulidae by most authors, though occasionally elevated to family rank. In the ...
(family
Tipulidae
Crane fly is a common name referring to any member of the insect family Tipulidae. Cylindrotominae, Limoniinae, and Pediciinae have been ranked as subfamilies of Tipulidae by most authors, though occasionally elevated to family rank. In the m ...
) - both of which are also known as 'daddy longlegs'. However, they are not closely related to cellar spiders — the latter is a
fly
Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced m ...
; and the former, while also an arachnid, is not a
spider
Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species d ...
at all.
The species was first formally described in 1867 by the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English ...
naturalist John Blackwall
John Blackwall (20 January 1790 – 11 May 1881) was an English naturalist with a particular interest in spiders.
Life
Blackwall was born in Manchester on 20 January 1790. He lived at Hendre House near Llanrwst in north Wales from 1833 until ...
from a collection of spiders from
Meerut
Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capi ...
,
Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
, and
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...
. They came from Francis Lyon, a captain of the
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
of the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading post ...
stationed in
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 ...
. They were sent to his sister who presented them to Blackwall at the suggestion of a mutual friend. Blackwall named the spider after Captain Lyon and expressed a hope that others may follow Lyon's example in collecting specimens from foreign countries for the benefit of science. He classified the species under the genus ''
Pholcus
''Pholcus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Pholcidae, with 361 described species as of October 2021.
It includes the cellar spider '' P. phalangioides'', often called the "daddy longlegs". This may cause confusion because the name "daddy l ...
''.
In 1892, the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
arachnologist
Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and harvestmen. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly, the study of s ...
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 and plants. He is by far the most prolific spider taxonomist in history, describing over 4 ...
erected the genus ''
Crossopriza'' and subsequently reclassified ''Pholcus lyoni'' to ''Crossopriza lyoni''.
Blackwall also described a curious case of
hermaphroditism
In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes.
Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have se ...
in one adult specimen, in which the left side was male and the right side was female.
Description
''C. lyoni'' are
sexually dimorphic
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...
. Females of ''C. lyoni'' are about in length. Males are slightly smaller, at about in length, and have prominent
pedipalp
Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the second pair of appendages of chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicerae ("jaws") a ...
s. Both sexes possess extremely long fragile legs. Males have slightly longer legs than females. The first pair of legs in larger male individuals can reach up to in length. The legs are gray to amber in color and covered with numerous small longitudinal brown spots. The 'knee joints' are brown, and the ends of the
femur
The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates wit ...
and
tibia
The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...
e are girdled with white.
Males also possess a series of 20 to 25 spines (
macrosetae) on their femur. Their leg formula is I, II, IV, III - the front pair of legs being the longest and the third pair being the shortest.
The
cephalothorax
The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''ceph ...
is wider than it is long, greyish-white to pale amber in color. The
carapace
A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the und ...
is subcircular. In the middle of the upper surface is a deep depression (called the thoracic fovea) and a darker longitudinal band of color. ''C. lyoni'', like most other cellar spiders, has eight eyes. They are pearly-white in color and located at the tip of the cephalothorax in two lines.
The abdomen (the
opisthosoma
The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma ( cephalothorax). It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata (arachnids, horseshoe crabs and others). Although it is similar in most respects ...
) is gray with white lateral stripes and various dark and light patches on the sides and the upper surface. An irregular darker stripe runs lengthwise at the bottom surface. The abdomen is angular and somewhat box-shaped, with a small conical hump on the upper back.
They also possess two types of
stridulatory organ
Stridulation is the act of producing sound by rubbing together certain body parts. This behavior is mostly associated with insects, but other animals are known to do this as well, such as a number of species of fish, snakes and spiders. The mech ...
s. The first type is located at the posterior tips of their cephalothorax (the
prosoma
The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''ce ...
) in the form of two triangular protrusions. The spiders rub these structures with a matching pair of
sclerotized plates at the anterior portion of the abdomen, producing sound. These structures are more prominent in females. They also possess stridulatory files (in the form of a series of small ridges) on their
chelicera
The chelicerae () are the mouthparts of the subphylum Chelicerata, an arthropod group that includes arachnids, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. Commonly referred to as " jaws", chelicerae may be shaped as either articulated fangs, or similarly ...
e which are rubbed against the pedipalps to produce sound. The second type is more prominent in males.
''C. lyoni'' can be distinguished from other members of the genus through several ways: by the characteristic boxy shape of their abdomens (''
C. cylindrogaster'' has a cylindrical abdomen); by the presence of two apophyses (jutting structures) in the chelicerae of males (''
C. pristina'', ''
C. semicaudata'', and ''
C. soudanensis'' all possess only one apophysis on each chelicera);
or simply by geographic distribution (''C. lyoni'' can be found globally and is the only species of ''Crossopriza'' in the
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...
, while the other species like ''
C. johncloudsleyi'' and ''
C. nigrescens'' are restricted to
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 covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
or the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
).
Ecology and life cycle

A single male ''C. lyoni'' is able to copulate with several females. Mating is accomplished with the male inserting both his pedipalps into the genital orifice of the female and transferring a previously prepared packet of sperm into her
spermatheca
The spermatheca (pronounced plural: spermathecae ), also called receptaculum seminis (plural: receptacula seminis), is an organ of the female reproductive tract in insects, e.g. ants, bees, some molluscs, oligochaeta worms and certain othe ...
e.
Because of the relative shortness of the male pedipalps in comparison to the sheer length of the legs of both males and females of the species, the spiders have to bring their bodies close together, giving the impression of 'snuggling'.
This lasts for about 40 minutes. In rare instances, females may
eat the males after copulation.
The eggs are deposited by the females 5–6 days after copulation. After laying the eggs, females will bind them into a ball with tiny amounts of silk. They then clutch the resulting egg sacs with their mouthparts and carry them around (a behavior common among all cellar spiders). Eggs that somehow fall from the loose bundles do not hatch. The females still feed during this period, setting their burdens aside temporarily while they eat, then picking them up again. They also frequently adjust their grip. Instances of females eating some of their own eggs have been recorded. It is assumed that they only consume the infertile ones, as unfertilized eggs occur at high enough rates among ''C. lyoni''.
5 to 54 spiderlings will eventually hatch from the eggs, 11 to 13 days after egg-laying. Spiderlings do not leave the eggs immediately. They hatch partially, but otherwise remain in the bundle their mothers carry for at least a day. They eventually leave it completely. They remain mostly inactive for 2 to 3 days after hatching until their first
molt
In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is the manner in which an animal routinely casts off a part of its body (often, but not always, an outer ...
.
Spiderlings which are separated from their mothers mature more rapidly than those which remained nearby. They become adults approximately 80 days after hatching.
''C. lyoni'' has a
lifespan of at least 194 days (around 6 and a half months).
''C. lyoni'' are active hunters. Hanging upside down, they will quickly capture prey caught in their irregular
cobweb
A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb (from the archaic word '' coppe'', meaning "spider") is a structure created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets, generally meant to catch its prey.
Spi ...
-like webs. If hungry enough, they also actively pursue prey that fly close to their webs. They do not use their fangs when hunting, throwing silk over prey instead and then wrapping them loosely using their hind legs. They will only bite them when they start to feed, which can sometimes be as long as six days after capture. They also actively clean their webs by removing carcasses regularly.
When webs become too dirty, they build new ones.
Newly hatched spiderlings are just as active as adults. 2 to 4 days after their first molt, spiderlings can already overpower mosquitoes four times their own size. Spiderlings may share prey they caught themselves or prey caught by their mother. They may also engage in
cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
by preying on their own siblings.
''C. lyoni'', like other cellar spiders, will violently gyrate their bodies in small circles when threatened.
They can do this very rapidly, blurring their outline and making them very difficult to see. This behavior earned cellar spiders one of their common names - 'vibrating spiders' - and is presumed to be an
antipredator adaptation
Anti-predator adaptations are mechanisms developed through evolution that assist prey organisms in their constant struggle against predators. Throughout the animal kingdom, adaptations have evolved for every stage of this struggle, namely by av ...
.
If this does not work, they will drop from their webs to the ground, or flee awkwardly with their characteristic long-legged gait.
Distribution and habitat
''C. lyoni'' are
synanthropic
A synanthrope (from the Greek σύν ''syn'', "together with" + ἄνθρωπος ''anthropos'', "man") is a member of a species of wild animal or plant that lives near, and benefits from, an association with human beings and the somewhat artific ...
, preferring to live inside or near human-made structures. They usually build large irregular webs in corners of rooms, basements, cellars, and beneath ceilings.
They are readily transported by human activity, especially as
hitchikers in ships.
As a result, ''C.lyoni'' has been introduced to most of the world, including
Australia,
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...
,
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 covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
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 subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
,
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''no ...
and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...
, and some
Pacific islands
Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of ...
.
Their place of origin is unknown but have been variously posited to be Africa (where their genus has the highest diversity) or somewhere in Asia.
Relations with humans
''C. lyoni'' are a regulated
invasive species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...
in several countries.
While doing no appreciable damage to humans, they are sometimes regarded as
pest
Pest or The Pest may refer to:
Science and medicine
* Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns
** Weed, a plant considered undesirable
* Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection
** ...
s due to the large amounts of unattractive webs they construct inside houses. Unlike most spiders which consume their old webs before building new ones, cellar spiders simply abandon their old webs. There are often hundreds of individuals representing different generations living in close proximity to each other in a given area.
Methods of controlling them can be as direct as simply using a
broom
A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. ...
or a
vacuum cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven.
The dirt is collected by either a ...
to remove the webs. Preventive measures mostly focus on reducing the amounts of insect prey around the house. This includes changing exterior white lights to yellow or
sodium vapor lights, colors which are less attractive to insects. Sealing small entry points can also prevent both insect and spider access into the house.
Insecticides can also be used, but is usually only effective for a relatively short amount of time.
Some people regard ''C. lyoni'' spiders as beneficial.
Adult ''C. lyoni'' can consume 12 to 20
mosquito
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning "gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "lit ...
es (''
Aedes
''Aedes'' is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except perhaps Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: ''Aedes albopictus'', a particularly invasive spe ...
'' sp.) a day, in addition to other insect pests.
Their effects on containing the populations of mosquitoes (''Aedes'', ''
Anopheles
''Anopheles'' () is a genus of mosquito first described and named by J. W. Meigen in 1818. About 460 species are recognised; while over 100 can transmit human malaria, only 30–40 commonly transmit parasites of the genus '' Plasmodium'', whi ...
'', ''
Culex
''Culex'' is a genus of mosquitoes, several species of which serve as vectors of one or more important diseases of birds, humans, and other animals. The diseases they vector include arbovirus infections such as West Nile virus, Japanese enc ...
'', etc.) and other disease-transmitting
arthropod
Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...
s harmful to humans seems to be significant. In areas where mosquito-borne diseases (like
dengue fever
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection. These may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic ...
) are present, it is recommended to avoid removing natural populations of ''C. lyoni''.
Studies have also shown that ''C. lyoni'' spiders that eat
dengue virus
''Dengue virus'' (DENV) is the cause of dengue fever. It is a mosquito-borne, single positive-stranded RNA virus of the family ''Flaviviridae''; genus ''Flavivirus''. Four serotypes of the virus have been found, a reported fifth has yet to be c ...
-infected mosquitoes do not seem to acquire the virus themselves.
A study in 2009 showed that the
web
Web most often refers to:
* Spider web, a silken structure created by the animal
* World Wide Web or the Web, an Internet-based hypertext system
Web, WEB, or the Web may also refer to:
Computing
* WEB, a literate programming system created b ...
s of ''C. lyoni'' exhibit
antibacterial properties against ''
Escherichia coli
''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus '' Esc ...
'', ''
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
''Pseudomonas aeruginosa'' is a common encapsulated, gram-negative, aerobic– facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium that can cause disease in plants and animals, including humans. A species of considerable medical importance, ''P. aer ...
'', ''
Staphylococcus aureus
''Staphylococcus aureus'' is a Gram-positive spherically shaped bacterium, a member of the Bacillota, and is a usual member of the microbiota of the body, frequently found in the upper respiratory tract and on the skin. It is often posit ...
'' and others.
Gram-positive bacteria
In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall.
Gram-positive bact ...
were more vulnerable to the proteins from ''C. lyoni'' webs than
Gram-negative bacteria
Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, which are composed of a thin peptidoglycan cell wa ...
.
''C. lyoni'' and other pholcids are often the subject of a popular
urban legend
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
about how they are the most venomous known animals except that 'their fangs are too small to penetrate human skin'. While they do possess potent
venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a ...
against insects and other spiders (some cellar spiders, for example, prey on deadly
redback spider
The redback spider (''Latrodectus hasselti''), also known as the Australian black widow, is a species of highly venomous spider believed to originate in South Australia or adjacent Western Australian deserts, but now found throughout Austral ...
s in
Australia), their venom is not harmful to humans.
See also
*
List of Pholcidae species
This page lists all described genera and species of the spider family Pholcidae. , the World Spider Catalog accepts 1820 species in 94 genera:
A ''Aetana''
'' Aetana'' Huber, 2005
* ''Aetana abadae'' Huber, 2015 — Philippines
* ''Aetana bagan ...
*''
Pholcus phalangioides
''Pholcus phalangioides'', commonly known as daddy long-legs spider or long-bodied cellar spider, is a spider of the family Pholcidae. It is also known as the skull spider, since its cephalothorax resembles a human skull. This is the only spide ...
'', another widespread synanthropic cellar spider
*
Spider cannibalism
Spider cannibalism is the act of a spider consuming all or part of another individual of the same species as food. In the majority of cases a female spider kills and eats a male before, during, or after copulation. Cases in which males eat female ...
References
External links
Pholcidae - the longest legs in the webmaintained by Bernard A. Huber and the
University of Bonn
The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...
Pholcidae ~ Cellar Spidersfro
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1318127
Pholcidae
Spiders of Europe
Articles containing video clips
Pantropical spiders
Spiders described in 1867