Scotophaeus blackwalli
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Gnaphosidae
Genus: Scotophaeus
Species:
S. blackwalli
Binomial name
Scotophaeus blackwalli
(Thorell, 1871)[1]

Scotophaeus blackwalli, also known as the mouse spider, is a species of spider belonging to the family Gnaphosidae.

It is a ground spider and does not create webs. Instead it hunts for insects and other spiders at night and uses its enlarged spinnerets to produce a sticky silk to subdue its prey. It is also an opportunistic scavenger.

Females also use their silk to build protective nests for their eggs.[2]

Description

The adult males of these spiders reach 9mm in length, maturing in the early summer, while females reach 12mm, and can be found until autumn.[3][4][5]

The carapace is dark brown while the abdomen is brown/grey with hairs resembling the body of a mouse, hence the common name of 'mouse spider'.[4] The legs are brown with thick pubescence.[4] The male has a small scutum on the dorsum of the abdomen.[3]

Distribution and habitat

Scotophaeus blackwalli is native to Europe, the Caucasus, Turkey and Iran. It has been introduced to North America, Peru, and Hawaii.[1] It is commonly found around and inside houses in Britain, usually in the Autumn, and also under bark and in holes in walls in warmer parts of Europe.[4] It hunts nocturnally.[5]

Subspecies

  • Scotophaeus blackwalli isabellinus (Simon, 1873) — Corsica, Italy, Croatia
  • Scotophaeus blackwalli politus (Simon, 1878) — France

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scotophaeus blackwalli.
  1. 1 2 "Taxon details Scotophaeus blackwalli (Thorell, 1871)", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 2016-04-15
  2. ↑ https://usaspiders.com/scotophaeus-blackwalli-mouse-spider/
  3. 1 2 Roberts, Michael J. (1996) Collins Field Guide - Spiders of Britain and Northern Europe, Collins, ISBN 978-0-00-219981-0, pp. 108-9
  4. 1 2 3 4 Jones, Dick (1989) A Guide to Spiders of Britain and Northern Europe (revised edition), Hamlyn, ISBN 0-600-56710-9, p. 74
  5. 1 2 Savory, Theodore (1945) The Spiders & Allied Orders of the British Isles, Warne, p. 64


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