| American Grass Spiders | |
|---|---|
| Agelenopsis pennsylvanica | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Family: | Agelenidae |
| Genus: | Agelenopsis Giebel, 1869 |
| Species | |
|
see text |
|
| Diversity | |
| 13 species | |
The American grass spiders are members of the genus Agelenopsis. They weave sheet webs that have a funnel shelter on one edge. The web is not sticky, but these spiders make up for that shortcoming by running very rapidly. They may be recognized by the arrangement of their eight eyes into three rows. The larger specimens (depending on species) can get up to approximately 19 mm in body length. The top row has two eyes, the middle row has four eyes, and the bottom row has two eyes (spaced wider than the ones on the top row). They also have two prominent hind spinnerets, and somewhat indistinct bands on their legs. They also have two dark bands running down either side of the cephalothorax.
Agelenopsis aperta, the American funnel-web spider, produces agatoxins. Their bite causes rapid paralysis in insect prey, although the spider's Chelicerae are too small to penetrate human skin.
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The genus name is a combination of Agelena (Eurasian grass spiders) a genus of similar spiders, and Greek -opsis "to look like". They are harmless spiders. Although most spiders use their webs to catch prey, the grass spider's web lacks adhesive ability. The spiders make up for that with their fast running.