Amaurobius similis (Blackwall, 1861)
Description
Dorsal tibial apophysis with straightly truncated lateral process. Epigyne with large, trapezoid groove. Prosoma yellowish-brown, sides and eye region darkened. Sternum yellowish. Chelicerae brown. Legs red-brown, vaguely annulated. Opisthosoma yellowish grey or reddish, with 4 black spots dorsally in anterior part, often merged.
Comparison of the palpal tibia of A. erberi, A. similis und A. fenestralis by J.-P. Taberlet: PDF
Body length male: 6.5-8 mmBody length female: 9-12 mm
Additional information
Under stones, in crevices, under bark and in basements.
This species can bite humans when accidently squeezing them. The bite leads in one case to numbness in the arm, disappearing after one hour (J. Wolff pers. comm.).
Frequency: Rare in Central Europe
Distribution
Phenology
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
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Figures
Pedipalp, dorso-retrolateral view
(Brændegaard 1966)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Wiehle 1953)
Pedipalp, dorso-retrolateral view
(Wiehle 1953)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Dresco 1977)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Roberts 1995)
Pedipalp, dorso-retrolateral view
(Locket & Millidge 1951)
Pedipalp, dorsal view
(Sherwood 2025)
Pedipalp, prolateral view
(Sherwood 2025)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Sherwood 2025)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Sherwood 2025)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Almquist 2007)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Almquist 2007)
Palpal tibia, dorsal view
(Dresco 1977)
Palpal tibia, dorsal view
(Heimer & Nentwig 1991)
Palpal tibia, dorsal view
(Taberlet unpubl.)
Palpal tibia, dorso-retrolateral view
(Taberlet unpubl.)
Palpal tibia, retrolateral view
(Taberlet unpubl.)
Habitus, dorsal view
(Almquist 2007)
Epigyne
(Brændegaard 1966)
Epigyne
(Roberts 1995)
Epigyne
(Wiehle 1953)
Epigyne
(Locket & Millidge 1951)
Epigyne
(Løvbrekke unpubl.)
Epigyne
(Seropian et al. 2023a)
Epigyne
(Seropian et al. 2023a)
Epigyne
(Seropian et al. 2023a)
Epigyne
(Seropian et al. 2023a)
Epigyne
(Seropian et al. 2023a)
Epigyne
(Almquist 2007)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Wiehle 1953)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Løvbrekke unpubl.)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Seropian et al. 2023a)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Seropian et al. 2023a)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Seropian et al. 2023a)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Seropian et al. 2023a)
Vulva, ventral view
(Seropian et al. 2023a)
Vulva, ventral view
(Seropian et al. 2023a)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Almquist 2007)
Habitus
(Locket & Millidge 1951)
Opisthosoma, dorsal view
(Wiehle 1953)
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
Aakra K, Hauge E (2003) Checklist of Norwegian spiders (Arachnida: Araneae), including Svalbard and Jan Mayen. Norwegian Journal of Entomology 50: 109-129 
Almquist S (2007) Swedish Araneae, part 2 – families Dictynidae to Salticidae. Insect Systematics & Evolution, Supplement 63(2006): 285-601
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, 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, 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
Brændegaard J (1966) Edderkopper: Eller Spindlere I Danmarks Fauna 72: 1-224
Dresco E (1977) Recherches sur les Amaurobius (Araneae, Amaurobiidae) et description de A. tessinensis sp. nov. du Tessin (Suisse). Revue Suisse de Zoologie 84: 873-882
Heimer S, Nentwig W (1991) Spinnen Mitteleuropas. Paul Parey Berlin
Helsdingen P J van (2025a) Catalogus van de Nederlandse spinnen. Versie 2025.1. 249 pp.
Hirna A, Gnelitsa V, Zhukovets E (2016) A checklist of the spiders (Araneae) of the Chornohora Mountain massif (Ukrainian Carpathians). Arachnologische Mitteilungen 51: 16-38
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
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]
Lavery A (2019) A revised checklist of the spiders of Great Britain and Ireland. Arachnology 18: 196-212
Le Peru B (2007) Catalogue et répartition des araignées de France. Revue Arachnologique 16: 1-468
Lissner J, Jensen J-K, Hansen L J, Simonsen W, Kelduni R, Nissen K (2016b) An updated checklist of spiders (Araneae) of the Faroe Islands. Norwegian Journal of Entomology 63: 197-240
Locket G H, Millidge A F (1951) British spiders. Vol. I. Ray Society, London, 310 pp.
Løvbrekke H (unpubl.)
Maurer R, Hänggi A (1990) Katalog der schweizerischen Spinnen. Documenta Faunistica Helvetiae 12
Otto S (2022) Caucasian spiders. A faunistic database on the spiders of the Caucasus Ecoregion. Database version 02.2022. Internet: caucasus-spiders.info.
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
Scharff N, Gudik-Sørensen O (2006) Katalog over Danmarks edderkopper (Araneae). Catalogue of the spiders of Denmark (Araneae). Entomologiske Meddelelser 74: 3-71
Seropian A, Otto S, Bulbulashvili N (2023a) Picking pearls from the Silk Road: insights into the spider (Arthropoda, Araneae) diversity in Georgia from the CaBOL project. Part I. Caucasiana 2: 143-159
Sherwood D (2025) Annotated checklist of imported non-native spider (Araneae) taxa recorded in the United Kingdom 1800–2024. Arthropoda Selecta 34: 121-160
Staudt A, Weber D, Nährig D (2013) Webspinnen (Arachnida, Araneae) aus Höhlen des Großherzogtums Luxemburg. Ferrantia 69: 115-157
Taberlet J-P (unpubl.)
Vasiliev A I, Mikhailov K G (2023) Annotated checklist of spiders (Araneae) of the Republic of Moldova. Invertebrate Zoology 20: 307-342
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
Wiehle H (1953) Spinnentiere oder Arachnoidea (Araneae), IX. Orthognatha-Cribellata-Haplogynae, Entelegynae (Pholcidae, Zodariidae, Oxyopidae, Mimetidae, Nesticidae). Die Tierwelt Deutschlands 42: 1-150
WSC (2026) World Spider Catalog. Version 27. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch (13.2.2026) doi: 10.24436/2
Updates
| 28-07-2025 | Image insert | |
| 16-06-2025 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 29-04-2025 | Image insert | |
| 28-04-2024 | Image insert | |
| 28-04-2024 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 17-12-2022 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 08-06-2021 | Image insert | |
| 03-02-2021 | Image insert | |
| 13-10-2017 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 28-04-2013 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 09-04-2013 | Distribution update | Detail |