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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynes » Cobweb Spiders (Theridiidae)

Family Theridiidae - Cobweb Spiders

Classification · Other Common Names · Numbers · Identification · Remarks · Works Cited
Possible Steatoda? - Steatoda hespera Brown spider - Brown Recluse? Cobweb Spider - Enoplognatha ovata - Enoplognatha ovata Immature Black Widow - Latrodectus hesperus Widow - Latrodectus variolus - male Pselliopus cinctus and Parasteatoda tepidariorum - Parasteatoda tepidariorum - female False Widow (Steatoda grossa) - Steatoda grossa - female Latrodectus Mactans-Male - Latrodectus mactans - male
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Arachnida (Arachnids)
Order Araneae (Spiders)
Infraorder Araneomorphae (True Spiders)
No Taxon (Entelegynes)
Family Theridiidae (Cobweb Spiders)
Other Common Names
Cobweb Spiders
Comb-Footed Spiders
Numbers
Worldwide, there are over 2200 species in 96 genera, however family is not considered to be monophyletic.

Levi describes 234 species in 32 genera in our region. (1)
Identification
Key
Remarks
Family includes Widow Spiders, Genus Latrodectus and the Common house spider - Achaearanea tepidariorum

Three theridiid genera, Achaearanea, Anelosimus, and Theridion, are known to contain subsocial species, but the only social spiders in our area are in the genus Anelosimus.
Works Cited
1.Spiders of North America: An Identification Manual
By D. Ubick, P. Paquin, P.E. Cushing and V. Roth (eds)
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 1:20pm
Additional contributions by Jay Barnes, Christopher Hunt, Jeff Hollenbeck, Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn, kschnei
Last updated 2 October, 2008 - 11:24am

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