Species Microhexura montivaga - Spruce Fir Moss Spider

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Range · Habitat · Food · Remarks · Print References · Internet References

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)

Class Arachnida (Arachnids)

Order Araneae (Spiders)

Infraorder Mygalomorphae (Mygalomorphs)

Family Microhexuridae

Genus Microhexura

Species montivaga (Spruce Fir Moss Spider)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Microhexura montivaga Crosby & Bishop, 1925

Range

Certain mountains in western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and southwest Virginia (USFWS, 2011)

Habitat

Spruce/fir forests, typically damp, but well-drained moss mats growing on rocks and boulders in well-shaded areas (USFWS, 2011)

Food

Most likely springtails and mites

Remarks

Listed as endangered by the US Fish & Wildlife Service since 1995. Main threat is the invasive exotic Balsam Wooly Adelgid, which is killing off Fraser Fir trees over large areas of the souther Appalachians (to which the spider is endemic). The spider lives exclusively under lush mats of moss; if the trees are killed, the moss below is dessicated and dies, leaving the spider without habitat.

Print References

Crosby, C. R. & Bishop, S. C. (1925). Two new spiders from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Entomological News 36: 142-146.

USFWS (2011). Spruce-fir moss spider, Microhexura montivaga PDF

Internet References

Farewell to the World’s Smallest Tarantula? National Wildlife magazine, 10-19-17

Contributed by Cotinis on 7 March, 2020 - 10:49am
Additional contributions by Joshua Stuart Rose
Last updated 3 October, 2020 - 6:21pm

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