Parasteatoda

Parasteatoda
P. tepidariorum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Theridiidae
Genus: Parasteatoda
Archer, 1946[1]
Type species
P. tepidariorum
(C. L. Koch, 1841)
Species

42, see text

Parasteatoda is a genus of comb-footed spiders that was first described by Allan Frost Archer in 1946.[2] The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek "para-" (παρά), meaning "near" or "next to", and the theridiid genus Steatoda. The Japanese name for this genus is O-himegumo zoku.[3]

Description

The eye arrangement of spiders in the genus Parasteatoda

Parasteatoda species have a characteristic teardrop-shaped abdomen, with the anterior section much higher than the carapace and the spinnerets pointed downwards. The abdomen's colouration is highly variable, both between and often within species. They have slight sexual dimorphism; males are visually similar to females, although slightly smaller.[4]

Species

It is mostly an Old World genus, with many species found in Asia and New Guinea, though the distribution reaches into Europe. A few species originate from the New World, but many have been introduced, and they are becoming more widespread in the Americas and Europe.[3]

As of May 2020 it contains forty-two species and two subspecies:[1]

Formerly included:

  • P. brookesiana (Barrion & Litsinger, 1995) (Transferred to Nihonhimea)
  • P. campanulata (Chen, 1993) (Transferred to Campanicola)
  • P. ferrumequina (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906) (Transferred to Campanicola)
  • P. japonica (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906) (Transferred to Nihonhimea)
  • P. mundula (L. Koch, 1872) (Transferred to Nihonhimea)
  • P. mundula (Chrysanthus, 1963) (Transferred to Nihonhimea)
  • P. oculiprominens Saito, 1939 (Transferred to Keijiella)
  • P. tesselata (Keyserling, 1884) (Transferred to Nihonhimea)

In synonymy:

  • P. boqueronica (Kraus, 1955) = Parasteatoda nigrovittata (Keyserling, 1884)
  • P. krausi (Chrysanthus, 1963) = Parasteatoda camura (Simon, 1877)
  • P. lunata (Olivier, 1789) = Parasteatoda lunata (Clerck, 1757)
  • P. mesax Levi, 1959 = Parasteatoda nigrovittata (Keyserling, 1884)
  • P. nipponica (Yoshida, 1983) = Parasteatoda tabulata (Levi, 1980)
  • P. obnubila (Keyserling, 1891) = Parasteatoda nigrovittata (Keyserling, 1884)
  • P. pallida (Walckenaer, 1841) = Parasteatoda tepidariorum (C. L. Koch, 1841)

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Parasteatoda.

References

  1. ^ a b Gloor, Daniel; Nentwig, Wolfgang; Blick, Theo; Kropf, Christian (2020). "Gen. Parasteatoda Archer, 1946". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  2. ^ Archer, A. F. (1946). "The Theridiidae or comb-footed spiders of Alabama". Museum Paper, Alabama Museum of Natural History. 22: 1–67.
  3. ^ a b Yoshida, H. (2008). "A revision of the genus Achaearanea (Araneae: Theridiidae)". Acta Arachnologica. 57: 37–40. doi:10.2476/asjaa.57.37.
  4. ^ Bee, Lawrence; Oxford, Geoff; Smith, Helen (2020). Britain's Spiders: A Field Guide (2nd ed.). Woodstock: Princeton University Press. p. 174. ISBN 9780691204741.

Further reading

  • Song, D. X.; Zhu, M. S.; Chen, J. (1999). The Spiders of China. Hebei Science and Technology Publishing House, Shijiazhuang. p. 640.
  • Zhu, M. S. (1998). Fauna Sinica: Arachnida: Araneae: Theridiidae. Science Press, Beijing. p. 436.
  • Yin, C. M.; et al. (2012). Fauna Hunan: Araneae in Hunan, China. Hunan Science and Technology Press, Changsha. p. 1590.
  • Yoshida, H. (2009), "Uloboridae, Theridiidae, Ctenidae", in Ono, H. (ed.), The spiders of Japan with keys to the families and genera and illustrations of the species