Artema atlanta

Artema atlanta
A. atlanta from Barrow Island, Western Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Pholcidae
Genus: Artema
Species: A. atlanta
Binomial name
Artema atlanta
Walckenaer, 1837[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Artema mauriciana Walckenaer, 1837
  • Pholcus sisyphoides Doleschall, 1857
  • Artema convexa Blackwall, 1858
  • Pholcus borbonicus Vinson, 1863
  • Artema mauricia Vinson, 1863
  • Pholcus rotundatus Karsch, 1879
  • Artema sisyphoides (Doleschall, 1857)
  • Artema kochii Kulczyński, 1901
  • Crossopriza sex-signata Franganillo, 1926
  • Coroia magna González-Sponga, 2005

Artema atlanta is a species of spider of the family Pholcidae with a pantropical distribution, introduced in Belgium[1] and North America. It is commonly known as the giant daddy-long-legs spider. With a body length of 8–11 mm, it is the largest pholcid in the world.[2]

Description

Specimens of both sexes have a body length of 8–11 mm.[3] Their first pair of legs is roughly 6.5 times the length of the body.[3]

Distribution

A. atlanta can be found in all tropical regions, such as the Seychelles, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam[3] and Brazil.[4] It can be found on every continent (apart from Antarctica).[4] As it lives near human habitations, it has been introduced to Belgium (Antwerp) and North America, where (as of 2009) colonies can be found in southern Arizona and southeastern California.[2] One specimen was found in England in 2004,[4] where they arrived via shipping container.

It is suggested that the species originates from the Old World, although it was first described from Brazil.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Taxon details Artema atlanta Walckenaer, 1837", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 2016-04-09
  2. 1 2 BugGuide: Artema atlanta
  3. 1 2 3 Saaristo MI 2001: Pholcid spiders of the granitic Seychelles (Araneae, Pholicidae). Phelsuma 9:15-17
  4. 1 2 3 4 Lee P 2005: An imported pholcid in Felixstowe. News. Br. arachnol. Soc. 102:7

Further reading

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