Sphodros niger

The Black purse-web spider (Sphodros niger) is a mygalomorph spider from the Eastern United States^[1].

Description

Males have a body length of about 11 mm, 29 mm with extended legs. The body is black, except for chocolate brown legs.^[1] Although the species was first described in 1842, females were first described in 1980^[2]. This results from the male's behavior of wandering about in search of mates, while females, which reside in tubes, are rarely found.

Name

The species name niger is Latin for "black".

Notes

References

• Gertsch, W.J. & Platnick, N.I. (1980). A revision of the American spiders of the family Atypidae (Araneae, Mygalomorphae). American Museum novitates 2704. Abstract - PDF (12Mb)
• Fitch, Henry S. (1963): Spiders of The University of Kansas Natural History Reservation and Rockefeller Experimental Tract.
• Platnick, Norman I. (2009): The world spider catalog, version 9.5. American Museum of Natural History.