The spider genus ''Spintharus'' occurs from the northeastern United States to

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 ...

Nicholas Marcellus Hentz Nicholas Marcellus Hentz (July 25, 1797 – November 4, 1856) was a French American educator and arachnologist. Biography Hentz was born in Versailles, France. He was the youngest child of Charles Nicholas Arnould Hentz and Marie-Anne Therese ...

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every po ...

the genus in 1850, initially as a

monospecific In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

genus containing his newly described species ''S. flavidus''. It is very similar to the genus '' Thwaitesia'', and both are similar to '' Episinus''. Unlike ''

Argyrodes ''Argyrodes'', also called dewdrop spiders, is a genus of comb-footed spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1864. They occur worldwide, and are best known for their kleptoparasitism. They can spin their own webs, but tend to ...

'', they have two setae in place of a colulus. Specimens of ''S. flavidus'' are variable in structure. Only some have an elevated eye region or humps on the anterior of the abdomen. Females of ''S. gracilis'' are 3.7mm long, males 2.3mm. A revision of the genus by and colleagues printed in 2018 included the description of fifteen new species, as well as the removal of ''S. argenteus''. Some of the new specific names were named in honor of political figures, artists, and celebrities. As of 2017, when the electronic pre-print was published, ''Spintharus'' was the spider genus with the most species named after celebrities. An earlier revision of the genus was by

Herbert Walter Levi Herbert Walter Levi (January 3, 1921 – November 3, 2014) was professor emeritus of zoology and curator of arachnology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. He was born in Germany, educated there and at Leighton Park School, Re ...

; his taxonomy recognized two species: ''S. flavidus'' and ''S. gracilis''.

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 ...

(WSC), largely following Agnarsson and colleagues, accepts the following extant species: * ''

Spintharus barackobamai ''Spintharus barackobamai'' is a species of comb-footed spider in the family Theridiidae Theridiidae, also known as the tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders and comb-footed spiders, is a large family of Araneomorphae, araneomorph spiders first de ...

'' – Cuba * '' Spintharus berniesandersi'' – Cuba * ''

Spintharus davidattenboroughi ''Spintharus davidattenboroughi'' is a species of comb-footed spider in the family Theridiidae Theridiidae, also known as the tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders and comb-footed spiders, is a large family of Araneomorphae, araneomorph spiders fi ...

'' – Jamaica * ''

Spintharus davidbowiei ''Spintharus davidbowiei'' is a species of comb-footed spider in the family Theridiidae. It is found in Mexico.https://wsc.nmbe.ch/specieslist/3541 NMBE It is one of 15 new species described in 2018. About its naming, the authors wrote: "The spe ...

'' – Mexico * ''

Spintharus dayleae ''Spintharus dayleae'' is a species of comb-footed spider in the family Theridiidae. It is found in Saint Lucia and Grenada.https://wsc.nmbe.ch/specieslist/3541 NMBE It is one of 15 new species described in 2018. References Theridiidae Sp ...

'' – Saint Lucia, Grenada * ''

Spintharus flavidus ''Spintharus flavidus'' is a species of 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 dive ...

'' (type species) – USA, Central and South America * '' Spintharus frosti'' – Dominican Republic * ''

Spintharus giraldoalayoni ''Spintharus giraldoalayoni'' is a species of comb-footed spider in the family Theridiidae. It is found in Cuba.https://wsc.nmbe.ch/specieslist/3541 NMBE It is one of 15 new species described in 2018. References Theridiidae Spiders descri ...

'' – Cuba * ''

Spintharus goodbreadae ''Spintharus goodbreadae'' is a species of comb-footed spider in the family Theridiidae. It is found in Cuba.https://wsc.nmbe.ch/specieslist/3541 NMBE It is one of 15 new species described in 2018. References Theridiidae Spiders described ...

'' – Cuba * ''

Spintharus gracilis ''Spintharus gracilis'' is a species of comb-footed spider in the family Theridiidae Theridiidae, also known as the tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders and comb-footed spiders, is a large family of Araneomorphae, araneomorph spiders first descri ...

'' – Brazil * ''

Spintharus greerae ''Spintharus greerae'' is a species of comb-footed spider in the family Theridiidae. It is found in Mexico.https://wsc.nmbe.ch/specieslist/3541 NMBE It is one of 15 new species described in 2018. References Theridiidae Spiders described i ...

'' – Mexico * ''

Spintharus jesselaueri ''Spintharus jesselaueri'' is a species of comb-footed spider in the family Theridiidae Theridiidae, also known as the tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders and comb-footed spiders, is a large family of Araneomorphae, araneomorph spiders first des ...

'' – Dominica * ''

Spintharus leonardodicaprioi ''Spintharus leonardodicaprioi'' is a species of theridiid spider. It is found in the Dominican Republic and was named after the actor Leonardo DiCaprio for his environmental activism. It was named alongside several other ''Spintharus'' species ...

'' – Dominican Republic *''Spintharus leverger'' – Brazil * ''

Spintharus manrayi ''Spintharus manrayi'' is a species of comb-footed spider in the family Theridiidae Theridiidae, also known as the tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders and comb-footed spiders, is a large family of Araneomorphae, araneomorph spiders first descri ...

'' – Cuba * ''

Spintharus michelleobamaae ''Spintharus michelleobamaae'' is a species of comb-footed spider in the family Theridiidae Theridiidae, also known as the tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders and comb-footed spiders, is a large family of Araneomorphae, araneomorph spiders firs ...

'' – Cuba * ''

Spintharus rallorum The spider genus ''Spintharus'' occurs from the northeastern United States to Brazil. Nicholas Marcellus Hentz circumscribed the genus in 1850, initially as a monospecific genus containing his newly described species ''S. flavidus''. It is ...

'' – Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis * ''

Spintharus skelly ''Spintharus skelly'' is a species of comb-footed spider in the family Theridiidae Theridiidae, also known as the tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders and comb-footed spiders, is a large family of Araneomorphae, araneomorph spiders first describe ...

'' – Dominican Republic The WSC also recognizes one fossil species in the genus: * ''

Spintharus longisoma ''Spintharus longisoma'' is an extinct species of comb-footed spider in the family Theridiidae. It was found in Dominican amber Dominican amber is amber from the Dominican Republic derived from resin of the extinct tree ''Hymenaea protera''. Do ...

'' —

Dominican amber Dominican amber is amber from the Dominican Republic derived from resin of the extinct tree ''Hymenaea protera''. Dominican amber differentiates itself from Baltic amber by being nearly always transparent, and it has a higher number of fossil incl ...

Formerly accepted species in ''Spintharus'' include: * ''Spintharus minutus'' (= ''

Theridion antillanum ''Theridion'' is a genus of tangle-web spiders with a worldwide distribution. Notable species are the Hawaiian happy face spider (''T. grallator''), named for the iconic symbol on its abdomen, and '' T. nigroannulatum'', one of few spid ...

'' ) * ''Spintharus hentzi'' (= ''Spintharus flavidus'' ) * ''Spintharus argenteus'' (nomen dubium)

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2712802 Theridiidae Araneomorphae genera Spiders of North America Spiders of South America Taxa named by Nicholas Marcellus Hentz