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Species Herpyllus ecclesiasticus - Eastern Parson Spider

Parson Spider - Herpyllus ecclesiasticus Basement crawler - Herpyllus ecclesiasticus - female Unidentified Insect - Herpyllus ecclesiasticus Parson's Spider - Herpyllus ecclesiasticus Central Massachusetts Nickel-Sized Furry Spider - Herpyllus ecclesiasticus Parson spider - Herpyllus ecclesiasticus - female Eastern Parson Spider  - Herpyllus ecclesiasticus Eastern Parson Spider - Herpyllus ecclesiasticus - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Arachnida (Arachnids)
Order Araneae (Spiders)
Infraorder Araneomorphae (True Spiders)
No Taxon (Entelegynes )
Family Gnaphosidae (Ground Spiders)
Genus Herpyllus
Species ecclesiasticus (Eastern Parson Spider)
Explanation of Names
The common name refers to the white dorsal stripe on the abdomen, which resembles a cravat worn by a parson or minister during the 1800's (Guarisco, 2007).
Size
Female 8-13mm, male 5.5-6.5mm - Howell and Jenkins, p. 274 (1)
Identification
H. ecclesiasticus is basically identical in appearance to H. propinquus, and examination of reproductive organs is needed for positive identification.
Range
H. ecclesiasticus generally occur east of the Rocky Mountains, although range overlaps with H. propinquus in several states.


The localities listed below are from frassed images only and do not represent the full extent of this species range:
Omaha, Nebraska
Warren, Knox County, Maine
Herndon, Fairfax County, Virginia
Toronto, Southern, Ontario, Canada
Beverly Hills, Citrus County, Florida
Print References
Checklist of Kansas Ground Spiders
The Kansas School Naturalist, Vol. 55 Dec. 2007
by Hank Guarisco

Revision of the Spider Genera Herpyllus and Scotophaeus (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) in North America
Norman I. Platnick and Mohammad U. Shadab
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History
Volume 159: Article 1
New York: 1977
Howell and Jenkins, p. 273-274 (1)
Works Cited
1.Spiders of the Eastern US, A Photographic Guide
By W. Mike Howell and Ronald L. Jenkins