Scytodes thoracica (Latreille, 1802)
Description
Male
Bulbus with a long, tapering embolus. Prosoma 2 mm long. Prosoma yellowish, equally large or larger than opisthosoma, dorsal line ascending posteriorly, pattern brown-black. Chelicerae weakly developed. Legs yellow-brown to black, annulated. Opisthosoma yellowish with brown-black pattern.
Body length male: 3.5-4 mmFemale
Prosoma 3 mm long. Cephalothorax almost as large as opisthosoma. Prosoma pale yellowish, with black pattern. Sternum pale yellow, labium slightly darker. Legs pale yellowish. Opisthosoma pale yellowish, with pairs of black patches on midline, and small black blotches on the side.
Body length female: 4-5.5 mmAdditional information
Outdoor in the southern parts of Europe, in heathland, scrub, rocky littoral, gardens, under stones, mainly in buildings, active during the night. Slow and skulking movements, does not build webs, but spits poison and adhesive from modified poison glands through large cheliceral opening on prey up to 20 mm away, which then is stuck to the surface.
Since a few decades, this species shows some spreading tendencies within Europe. Nevertheless, it shall not be listed as alien or invasive because it is native for Europe.
Distribution
Phenology
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
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Figures
Pedipalp
(Loksa 1969)
Pedipalp
(Locket & Millidge 1951)
Pedipalp
(Bürgis 1990)
Pedipalp
(Roberts 1995)
Pedipalp
(Wiehle 1953)
Pedipalp
(Locket & Millidge 1951)
Epigyne
(Bürgis 1990)
Epigyne
(Wiehle 1953)
Vulva
(Wiehle 1953)
Habitus
(Locket & Millidge 1951)
Habitus
(Loksa 1969)
Prosoma, lateral view
(Braendegaard 1966)
Prosoma, lateral view
(Loksa 1969)
Eyes, dorsal view
(Loksa 1969)
Eyes, dorsal view
(Wiehle 1953)
Sternum and coxa
(Wiehle 1953)
Sternum
(Locket & Millidge 1951)
Chelicerae, ventral view
(Wiehle 1953)
Chelicerae, ventral view
(Loksa 1969)
Chelicerae, ventral view
(Locket & Millidge 1951)
Habitus
(Bürgis 1990)
Habitus
(Bürgis 1990)
Habitus
(Wiehle 1953)
References
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)
Bosmans R, Van Keer J, Russell-Smith A, Hadjiconstantis M, Komnenov M, Bosselaers J, Huber S, McCowan D, Snazell R, Decae A, Zoumides C, Kielhorn K-H, Oger P (2019c) Spiders of Cyprus (Araneae). A catalogue of all currently known species from Cyprus. Newsletter of the Belgian Arachnological Society 34, Suppl. 1: 1-173 
Bosmans R. (unpubl.) Provisional list of spiders of North Africa. Database excerpt Aug. 2019
Braendegaard J (1966) Edderkopper: Eller Spindlere I Danmarks Fauna 72: 1-224
Bürgis H (1990) Die Speispinne Scytodes thoracica (Araneae: Sicariidae). Ein Beitrag zur Morphologie und Biologie. Mitt Pollichia 77: 289-313
Danışman T, Kunt K B, Özkütük R S (2019) The checklist of the spiders of Turkey. Version 2018 [last updated 1 January 2019], 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
Demircan N, Topçu A (2016) First records for spider fauna of the European part of Turkey (Araneae). Serket 15: 85-91
Helsdingen P J van (2010a) Araneae. In: Fauna Europaea Database (Version 2010.1), online at www.european-arachnology.org
Kostanjšek R, Kuntner M (2015) Araneae Sloveniae: a national spider species checklist. ZooKeys 474: 1-91
Le Peru B (2011) The spiders of Europe, a synthesis of data: Volume 1 Atypidae to Theridiidae. Mémoires de la Société Linnéenne de Lyon 2: 1-522
Locket G H, Millidge A F (1951) British Spiders 1. Ray Soc London
Loksa I (1969) Pokok I-Araneae I. Fauna Hungariae 97: 2.1-2.133
Otto S (2019) Caucasian spiders. A faunistic database on the spiders of the Caucasus Ecoregion. Database version 10.2019. Internet: caucasus-spiders.info.
Pantini P, Isaia M (2019) Araneae.it: the online Catalog of Italian spiders, with addenda on other Arachnid Orders occurring in Italy (Arachnida: Araneae, Opiliones, Palpigradi, Pseudoscorpionida, Scorpiones, Solifugae). http://araneae.it. [Old pdf-version: Checklist of the Italian spiders (version June 2018). online at Pantini_&_Isaia_- _Checklist_of_the_Italian_spiders._June_2018.] Fragmenta Entomologica 51: 127-152
Pfliegler W A, Schönhofer A, Niedbała W, Vella P, Sciberras A, Vella A (2017) New records of mites (Acari) and harvestmen (Opiliones) from Malta with a preliminary checklist of Maltese Arachnida. Soil Organisms 89: 85-110
Polchaninova N, Prokopenko E (2019) An updated checklist of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Left-Bank Ukraine. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 57: 60-64 & App
Roberts M J (1995) Spiders of Britain and Northern Europe. Collins Field Guide Bath
Wiehle H (1953) Spinnentiere oder Arachnoidea (Araneae), IX. Orthognatha-Cribellata-Haplogynae, Entelegynae (Pholcidae, Zodariidae, Oxyopidae, Mimetidae, Nesticidae). Tierwelt Deutschlands 42
World Spider Catalog (2019) World Spider Catalog, version 20.5. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch (20.09.2019) doi: 10.24436/2