Spitting spider
| Spitting spiders Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Scytodes thoracica | |
| Dictis striatipes spitting | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Scytodidae Blackwall, 1864 |
| Diversity[1] | |
| 4 genera, 253 species | |
| blue: reported countries (WSC) green: observation hotspots (iNaturalist) | |
Spitting spiders are a family of araneomorph spiders, the family Scytodidae, first described by John Blackwall in 1864.[2] It contains over 250 species in four genera,[1] of which Scytodes is the best-known.
Description
Scytodidae spiders are haplogyne, meaning they lack hardened female genitalia. They have six eyes, like most spiders in this group, arranged in three pairs. They possess long legs and a dome-shaped cephalothorax, and are usually yellow or light brown with black spots or marks.[3][4]
Hunting technique
Scytodidae catch their prey by spitting a fluid that congeals on contact into a venomous and sticky mass. The fluid contains both venom and spider silk in liquid form, though it is produced in venom glands in the chelicerae. The venom-laced silk both immobilizes and envenoms prey such as silverfish. In high-speed footage the spiders can be observed swaying from side to side as they "spit", catching the prey in a criss-crossed "Z" pattern; it is criss-crossed because each of the chelicerae emits half of the pattern. The spider usually strikes from a distance of 10 to 20 millimetres (0.39 to 0.79 in) and the entire attack sequence only lasts 1/700th of a second.[5] After making the capture, the spider typically bites the prey with venomous effect, and wraps it in the normal spider fashion with silk from the spinnerets.[6]
Pre social behaviour
Some species exhibit presocial behaviour, in which mature spiders live together and assist the young with food.[7]
Habitat and lifestyle
They are ground and plant dwellers, free-running and nocturnal spiders. They are found throughout the region in all biomes, usually collected from vegetation and from under stones and dark places on the soil surface.[8]
Genera
-
female Scytodes elizabethae
-
female Scytodes fusca
-
As of January 2026, this family includes four genera and 253 species:[1]
- Dictis L. Koch, 1872 – Seychelles, Asia, Pacific Isles, tropical Asia. Introduced to Mexico, United States
- Scyloxes Dunin, 1992 – Tajikistan, Malaysia, Thailand
- Scytodes Latreille, 1804 – Africa, Asia, southern Europe, North to South America, Australia, New Guinea. Introduced worldwide
- Stedocys Ono, 1995 – China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand
References
- ^ a b c "Family: Scytodidae Blackwall, 1852". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
- ^ Blackwall, J. (1864). A history of the spiders of Great Britain and Ireland. Ray Society, London. pp. 175–384.
- ^ "SCYTODIDAE Spitting spiders". Arachne.org.au. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ "Spitting spider". Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ Piper, Ross (2007). Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-33922-6.
- ^ Gilbert, C.; Rayor, L.S. (1985). "Predatory behavior of spitting spiders (Araneae, Scytodidae) and the evolution of prey wrapping". Journal of Arachnology. 13 (2): 231–241. JSTOR 3705028.
- ^ Miller, Jeremy (2010). "Taxon page for Scytodes socialis Miller, 2006". Archived from the original on 2012-03-31.
- ^ Dippernaar-Schoeman, Ansie (2014). Field Guide to the Spiders of South Africa (1st ed.). LAPA Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7993-6018-9.