The Dysderidae, also known as woodlouse hunters, sowbug-eating spiders, and cell spiders, are a family of
araneomorph
The Araneomorphae (also called the Labidognatha or "true spiders") are an infraorder of spiders. They are distinguishable by chelicerae (fangs) that point diagonally forward and cross in a pinching action, in contrast to the Mygalomorphae (taran ...
spiders first described by
Carl Ludwig Koch
Carl Ludwig Koch (21 September 1778 – 23 August 1857) was a German entomologist and arachnologist. He was responsible for classifying a great number of spiders, including the Brazilian whiteknee tarantula and common house spider. He was born ...
in 1837.
They are found primarily in
Eurasia
Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...
, extending into North Africa with very few species occurring in South America. ''
Dysdera crocata'' is introduced into many regions of the world.
Dysderids generally have six eyes, and are
haplogyne
The Haplogynae or haplogynes are one of the two main groups into which araneomorph spiders have traditionally been divided, the other being the Entelegynae. Morphological phylogenetic studies suggested that the Haplogynae formed a clade; more rece ...
, i.e. the females lack a
sclerotized epigyne
The epigyne or epigynum is the external genital structure of female spiders. As the epigyne varies greatly in form in different species, even in closely related ones, it often provides the most distinctive characteristic for recognizing species. ...
. There is a substantial number of genera, but two of them, ''Dysdera'' and ''Harpactea'', account for a very large number of the species and are widespread across the family's range. One species, ''Dysdera crocata'' (the woodlouse hunter), has been transported over much of the planet together with its preferred foods—
woodlice
Woodlice are terrestrial isopods in the suborder Oniscidea. Their name is derived from being often found in old wood, and from louse, a parasitic insect, although woodlice are neither parasitic nor insects.
Woodlice evolved from marine isopods ...
. ''Dysdera'' also feeds on
beetle
Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...
s. These spiders have very large
chelicerae
The chelicerae () are the arthropod mouthparts, 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 ...
, which they use to pierce the armored bodies of woodlice and beetles. There are also some reports that they have a mildly toxic
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 sti ...
that can cause local reactions in humans.
The spiders have their six eyes arranged in a semicircle like
segestrids, but have only the first two pairs of legs produced forward. ''Dysdera crocata'' has a characteristic coloring, which can only be confused with spiders in the
trachelid genera ''
Trachelas'' and ''
Meriola'': the carapace is dull red-brown and the abdomen gray or tan.
Genera
The categorization into subfamilies follows Joel Hallan'
Biology Catalog , 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:
*
Dysderinae C. L. Koch, 1837
** ''
Cryptoparachtes'' Dunin, 1992 (Georgia, Azerbaijan)
** ''
Dysdera'' Latreille, 1804 (worldwide)
** ''
Dysderella'' Dunin, 1992 (Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan))
** ''
Dysderocrates'' Deeleman-Reinhold & Deeleman, 1988 (Balkans)
** ''
Harpactocrates'' Simon, 1914 (Europe)
** ''
Hygrocrates'' Deeleman-Reinhold, 1988 (Georgia, Turkey)
** ''
Parachtes'' Alicata, 1964 (Southern Europe)
** ''
Rhodera'' Deeleman-Reinhold, 1989 (Crete)
** ''
Stalitochara'' Simon, 1913 (Algeria)
** ''
Tedia'' Simon, 1882 (Israel, Syria)
*
Harpacteinae
** ''
Dasumia'' Thorell, 1875 (Europe, Middle East)
** ''
Folkia'' Kratochvíl, 1970 (Balkans)
** ''
Harpactea'' Bristowe, 1939 (Europe to Iran, Mediterranean)
** ''
Holissus'' Simon, 1882 (Corsica)
** ''
Kaemis'' Deeleman-Reinhold, 1993 (Italy)
** ''
Minotauria'' Kulczyn'ski, 1903 (Crete)
** ''
Sardostalita'' Gasparo, 1999 (Sardinia)
** ''
Stalagtia'' Kratochvíl, 1970 (Balkans, Greece)
*
Rhodinae
** ''
Mesostalita'' Deeleman-Reinhold, 1971 (Balkans, Italy)
** ''
Parastalita'' Absolon & Kratochvíl, 1932 (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
** ''
Rhode'' Simon, 1882 (Mediterranean)
** ''
Speleoharpactea'' Ribera, 1982 (Spain)
** ''
Stalita'' Schiödte, 1847 (Balkans)
** ''
Stalitella'' Absolon & Kratochvíl, 1932 (Balkans)
* ''
incertae sedis
or is a term used for a taxonomy (biology), taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...
''
** ''
Thereola'' Petrunkevitch, 1955 † (fossil,
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...
)
:** ''
Thereola petiolata'' (Koch & Berendt, 1854) †
See also
*
List of Dysderidae species
References
External links
{{Authority control
Araneomorphae families
Taxa named by Carl Ludwig Koch