Species Barronopsis texana

See the World Spider Catalog.

Author of name: Willis Gertsch. First year published: 1934.

Body length of adult males 8.25 - 10 millimeters.(1)(2)(3)

Body length of adult females doesn't appear to be listed in Stocks' description, but isn't much different than that of the males'. Stocks records the lengths of specific parts of the spider instead.

Coloration variable, generally dusky gray or tan background with light black mottling, occasionally with reddish or burgundy coloration on abdomen. Carapace coloration also variable, from prominent longitudinal black stripe on carapace flanks to series of three or four black wedges or no pattern at all.(4)

Photos ID’s in the texana image page are primarily tentative based on location.

Female:

Southeastern USA: e. Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, e. Tennessee.(4)

BugGuide data has shown records in Virginia as well.

Barronopsis texana and B. jeffersi are very similar in habits and features of the genitalia, and so are considered sister-taxa.(4)

Also, many other agelenid genera can look similar (see Agelenidae), but since Barronopsis is only an eastern USA species, it's usually only the genus Agelenopsis that it can be readily confused with. Other look-alike genera are strictly western species.

Chamberlin, R. V. & W. Ivie, 1941a. North American Agelenidae of the genera Agelenopsis, Calilena, Ritalena and Tortolena. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 34: 585-628.(1)

Gertsch, W. J., 1934d. Further notes on American spiders. American Museum Novitates 726: 1-26.(2)

Roth, V. D., 1954. Review of the spider subgenus Barronopsis (Arachnida, Agelenidae). American Museum Novitates 1678: 1-7.(3)

Stocks, I. C., 2009. Systematics and natural history of Barronopsis (Araneae: Agelenidae), with description of a new species. Zootaxa 2270: 1-38.(4)