Cheiracanthium punctorium (Villers, 1789)
Description
Male
Tibial apophysis with equally long branches. Tip of cymbium longer than 1/3 of cymbium (without cymbial spur). Prosomal length male: 3.5-6.3 mm. Chelicerae male: diverging distally.
Body length male: 7.5-12.0 mmFemale
Vulva with medially constricted receptaculum seminis, entrance ducts distant. Prosomal length female: 3.9-7.5 mm.
Body length female: 10.0-15.0 mmAdditional information
In herbaceous and bush layer of warm, open habitats.
This species can bite humans (Nentwig et al., 2013), usually when they try to catch it or squeeze it accidentally. Bite results in an immediate burning pain, reaching its maximum intensity after 5–20 minutes and lasting for a few hours. Pain intensity was compared to a wasp sting or even stronger. The bite may cause moderate local swelling and redness. There are no necrotic skin reactions. If needed, a symptomatic medical treatment is recommended.
Distribution
Phenology
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
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Figures
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Azheganova 1968)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Heimer & Nentwig 1991)
Pedipalp, ventro-retrolateral view
(Sterghiu 1985)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Sterghiu 1985)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Heimer & Nentwig 1991)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Pesarini unpubl.)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Urones 1987)
Pedipalp, prolateral view
(Zamani et al. 2022e)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Zamani et al. 2022e)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Zamani et al. 2022e)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Urones 2023)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Almquist 2007)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Almquist 2007)
Chelicerae, frontal view
(Heimer & Nentwig 1991)
Chelicerae and eyes, frontal view
(Almquist 2007)
Habitus, dorsal view
(Urones 1987)
Epigyne
(Pesarini unpubl.)
Epigyne
(Roberts 1995)
Epigyne
(Sterghiu 1985)
Epigyne
(Belik & Rozwałka 2007)
Epigyne
(Urones 2023)
Epigyne
(Almquist 2007)
Vulva, ventral view
(Heimer & Nentwig 1991)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Wolf unpubl.)
Vulva
(Azheganova 1968)
Vulva
(Reimoser 1937)
Vulva
(Belik & Rozwałka 2007)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Almquist 2007)
Habitus, dorsal view
(Sterghiu 1985)
Distribution List
"No references" does not mean that the species does not occur in this country, but that we have not yet inserted the reference for it. We are working on it.
References
Almquist S (2007) Swedish Araneae, part 2 – families Dictynidae to Salticidae. Insect Systematics & Evolution, Supplement 63(2006): 285-601 
Azheganova N S (1968) Kratkii opredelitel' paukov (Aranei) lesnoi i lesostepnoi zony SSSR. Akademia Nauk SSSR, 149pp.
Belik K, Rozwałka R (2007) New data of Cheiracanthium punctorium (Villers, 1789) (Araneae: Miturgidae) and notes of distribution of this species in Poland. Przegląd Zoologiczny 51: 157-161
Biteniekytė M, Rėlys V (2012) The checklist of Lithuanian spiders (Arachnida: Araneae). Biologija 57: 148-158
Blagoev G (2002) Check list of Macedonian spiders (Araneae). Acta Zoologica Bulgarica 54: 9-34
Blagoev G, Deltshev C, Lazarov S, Naumova M (2018) The spiders (Araneae) of Bulgaria. Version: August 2018. National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Online at http://www.nmnhs.com/spiders-bulgaria/ (accessed on 10.9.2018)
Blick T (2018) A small collection of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from the River Vjosa, Albania – with an updated spider checklist of Albania. Acta ZooBot Austria 155: 213-232
Blick T, Finch O-D, Harms K H, Kiechle J, Kielhorn K-H , Kreuels M, Malten A, Martin D, Muster C, Nährig D, Platen R, Rödel I, Scheidler M, Staudt A, Stumpf H, Tolke D (2016) Rote Liste und Gesamtartenliste der Spinnen (Arachnida: Araneae) Deutschlands. 3. Fassung, Stand April 2008, einzelne Änderungen und Nachträge bis August 2015. Naturschutz und Biologische Vielfalt 70/4: 383-510
Bosmans R, Chatzaki M (2005) A catalogue of the spiders of Greece – a critical review of all spider species cited from Greece with their localities. Nieuwsbrief van de Belgische arachnologische Vereniging 20 (2, suppl.): 1-124
Bosmans R, Van Keer K (2017) Een herziene soortenlijst van de Belgische spinnen (Araneae). Nieuwsbrief van de Belgische Arachnologische Vereniging 32: 39-69
Branco V V, Morano E, Cardoso P (2019) An update to the Iberian spider checklist (Araneae). Zootaxa 4614: 201-254
Cera I (2018) The checklist of Latvian spiders (Arachnida: Araneae). Environmental and Experimental Biology 16: 139-152
Danışman T, Kunt K B, Özkütük R S, Coşar İ (2025a) The checklist of the spiders of Turkey. Version 2025 [last updated 01 December 2025], online at http://www.spidersofturkey.info
Deltshev C, Vrenozi B, Blagoev G, Lazarov S (2011b) Spiders of Albania – faunistic and zoogeographical review (Arachnida: Araneae). Acta Zoologica Bulgarica 63: 125-144
Gajdoš P, Svatoň J, Sloboda J (1999) Katalóg pavúkov Slovenska. Catalogue of Slovakian spiders. Ústav kr. ekol. SAV, Bratislava, 337 pp.
Grbac I, Katušić L, Lukić M (2019) Catalogue of spiders (Araneae) deposited in the Croatian Natural History Museum. Natura Croatica 28: 185-269
Grbić G, Hänggi A, Krnjajić S (2021) Spiders (Araneae) of Subotica Sandland (Serbia): additional arguments in environmental protection. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 67: 15-61
Heimer S, Nentwig W (1991) Spinnen Mitteleuropas. Paul Parey Berlin
Hermann E (1998) Die Spinnen (Araneae) ausgewählter Halbtrockenrasen im Osten Luxemburgs. Bulletin de la Société des naturalistes Luxembourgeois 99: 189-199
Isaia M, Tolve M, Pantini P (2025) Araneae.it: 2.0: the new updated version of the digital catalog of the Italian spiders and other arachnids (Arachnida: Araneae, Opiliones, Scorpiones, Pseudoscorpiones, Palpigradi, Solifugae). Fragmenta Entomologica 57: 197-204
Kostanjšek R, Kuntner M (2015) Araneae Sloveniae: a national spider species checklist. ZooKeys 474: 1-91
Kreuels M, Staudt A, Christian S (2019) Die Spinnenfauna von Luxemburg – eine Zusammenstellung der Nachweise aus den Jahren 1906-2018 (Arachnida: Araneae). Bulletin de la Société des naturalistes luxembourgeois 121: 203-230
Kronestedt T (2001) Checklist of Spiders (Araneae) in Sweden [Preliminary version February 2001]
Kropf C, Horak P (1996) Die Spinnen der Steiermark (Arachnida, Araneae). Mitteilungen des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereines für Steiermark Sonderheft: 1-112
Le Peru B (2007) Catalogue et répartition des araignées de France. Revue Arachnologique 16: 1-468
Maurer R, Hänggi A (1990) Katalog der schweizerischen Spinnen. Documenta Faunistica Helvetiae 12
Nentwig W, Gnädinger M, Fuchs J, Ceschi A (2013) A two year study of verified spider bites in Switzerland and a review of the European spider bite literature. Toxicon 73: 104-110
Otto S (2022) Caucasian spiders. A faunistic database on the spiders of the Caucasus Ecoregion. Database version 02.2022. Internet: caucasus-spiders.info.
Pesarini C (unpubl.)
Polchaninova N, Prokopenko E (2019) An updated checklist of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Left-Bank Ukraine. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 57: 60-64 & App
Ponomarev A V (2022) Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of the southeast of the Russian Plain: catalogue, the fauna specific features. SSC RAS Publishers, Rostov-on-Don, 640 pp.
Reimoser E (1937) Spinnentiere oder Arachnoidea, VIII. 16: Familie Gnaphosidae oder Plattbauchspinnen; 17: Familie Anyphaenidae oder Zartspinnen; 18: Familie Clubionidae oder Röhrenspinnen. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands 33: 1-99
Roberts M J (1995) Collins Field Guide: Spiders of Britain & Northern Europe. HarperCollins, London, 383 pp.
Rozwałka R, Stanska M (2008) Check-list of spiders (Araneae) of Poland. 1. December 2008. online at http://www.arachnologia.edu.pl/en/species/8-spiders-of-poland.html
Růžička V, Řezáč M (2022a) Seznam pavouků České republiky. List of spiders of the Czech Republic. Online at https://www.arachnology.cz/seznam-pavouku-cr-26.html and https://www.arachnology.cz/en/seznam-pavouku-cr-26.html
Samu F, Szinetár C (1999) Bibliographic check list of the Hungarian spider fauna. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 11: 161-184
Sterghiu C (1985) Fam. Clubionidae. Fauna Republicii Socialiste România (Arachnida) 5 (4): 1-168
Ukhova N, Esyunin S, Sozontov A (2024) Spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) of the Visimskiy Biosphere Reserve (Middle Urals): 37 years of arachnological research. Biodiversity Data Journal 12(e114930): 1-37
Urones C (1987) Las arañas de bolsa (Familia Clubionidae). La especie "Cheiracantium punctorium" (Villers) nueva para Salamanca. Salamanca Revista de Estudios 22-23: 345-355
Urones C (2023) Cheiracanthium C.L. Koch, 1839 (Araneae, Cheiracanthiidae) ibéricos y de la región Paleártico-occidental. 1. Novedades sobre Ch. mildei L. Koch, 1864 y Ch. ilicis Morano & Bonal, 2016. Revista Ibérica de Aracnología 43: 9-29
Vasiliev A I, Mikhailov K G (2023) Annotated checklist of spiders (Araneae) of the Republic of Moldova. Invertebrate Zoology 20: 307-342
Vilbaste A (1987) Eesti Ämblikud (Aranei). Annoteeritud nimestik. Estonian spiders (Aranei). An annotated check list. Valgus, Tallinn. 113 pp. & 512 maps on 67 unpag. pages
Vrenozi B (2012) A collection of spiders (Araneae) in Albanian coastal areas. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 44: 41-46
Weiss I, Petrișor A (1999) List of the spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from Romania. Travaux du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle “Grigore Antipa” 41: 79-107
Wolf A (unpubl.)
WSC (2026) World Spider Catalog. Version 27. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch (13.2.2026) doi: 10.24436/2
Zamani A, Österman E M, Koponen S (2022e) On a collection of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from the island of Seili, with a new record for the Finnish fauna and a list of species from the island. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 64: 29-33
Updates
| 31-07-2025 | Image insert | |
| 23-06-2025 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 02-05-2024 | Image insert | |
| 22-01-2024 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 30-05-2023 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 18-03-2023 | Image insert | |
| 15-01-2023 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 09-01-2023 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 09-01-2023 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 09-11-2020 | Gallery image insert | |
| 15-03-2020 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 28-06-2019 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 02-02-2017 | Image insert | |
| 26-11-2013 | Datasheet update | Detail |
| 15-04-2013 | Distribution update | Detail |