Scytodidae  Blackwall, 1852 / Scytodes  Latreille, 1804   13 species

Scytodes velutina Heineken & Lowe, 1832

Description
Male

Bulbus with a short embolus. Prosoma 1.9 mm long.

Body length male: 3.5 mm
Female

Prosoma 2.7 mm long. Prosoma pale yellowish, with black pattern. Opisthosoma pale yellowish, anteriorly with 2 wide transverse procurved black streaks, and posteriorly with 2 longitudinal dark streaks.

Body length female: 5.7 mm
Additional information

Under stones.

Distribution
  Presence
  No data
Global distribution (WSC 2026): Mediterranean, Cape Verde, Ascension, Seychelles
Phenology
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
 male  female
Figures
Distribution List
Algeria   (Van Keer & Bosmans, 2014; Benhacene et al., 2023) ||| Cyprus   (Bosmans et al., 2019c) ||| Egypt   (El-Hennawy, 2017a) ||| France   (Le Peru, 2007) ||| France / Corsica   (Le Peru, 2007) ||| Greece   (Bosmans & Chatzaki, 2005) ||| Greece / Crete   (Bosmans & Chatzaki, 2005) ||| Italy   (Isaia et al., 2025) ||| Italy / Sardinia   (Isaia et al., 2025) ||| Italy / Sicily   (Isaia et al., 2025) ||| Libya   (Van Keer & Bosmans, 2014; Elkrew et al., 2024) ||| Malta   (Pfliegler et al., 2017) ||| Morocco   (Denis, 1961c; Van Keer & Bosmans, 2014; Benhalima & Bosmans, 2024) ||| Portugal   (Branco et al., 2019) ||| Spain   (Branco et al., 2019) ||| Spain / Balearic Islands   (Branco et al., 2019) ||| Tunisia   (Van Keer & Bosmans, 2014; Kmira et al., 2025) ||| Turkey (Asia)   (Kunt et al., 2012) |||
References

Abdel-Ghani D M A, Hassan F M, Sallam G M E (2023) Spiders as a bio-agent factor in a mango greenhouse at Giza Governorate, Egypt. Serket 20: 26-38 pdf

Benhacene R, Adjami A, Hadjeb A, Kermiche K, Ouakid M L (2023) Bibliographic checklist of the Algerian spider fauna (Araneae). Zootaxa 5352: 301-357 pdf

Benhalima S, Bosmans R (2024) First historical checklist of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from Morocco, between 1840–2024. Zootaxa 5555: 407-535 pdf

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 pdf

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 pdf

Branco V V, Morano E, Cardoso P (2019) An update to the Iberian spider checklist (Araneae). Zootaxa 4614: 201-254 pdf

Brignoli P M (1976a) Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Scytodidae (Araneae). Revue Suisse de Zoologie 83: 125-191 pdf

Denis J (1961c) Notes d'aranéologie marocaine. IX. Les araignées du Maroc I. Orthognatha et Haplogynae. Bulletin de la Société des Sciences Naturelles du Maroc 41: 141-167 pdf

El-Hennawy H K (2017a) A list of Egyptian spiders (revised in 2017). Serket 15: 167-183 pdf

Elkrew H, Hamza A, Ghana S, Shaibi T, Swehli A I, Elmareme H, Ahmad A (2024) Checklist of the spiders (Araneae) of Libya. Pakistan Journal of Life and Social Sciences 22: 19346-19369 pdf

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 pdf

Kmira G, Nasri-Ammar, Petillon J, Bosmans R (2025) Catalog of the spiders of Tunisia (Arachnida: Araneae). Zootaxa 5641: 1-95 pdf

Kunt K B, Kaya R S, Özkütük R S, Danişman T, Yağmur E A, Elverici M (2012) Additional notes on the spider fauna of Turkey (Araneae). Turkish Journal of Zoology 36: 637-651 pdf

Le Peru B (2007) Catalogue et répartition des araignées de France. Revue Arachnologique 16: 1-468 pdf

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 pdf

Saaristo M I (1997c) Scytotids (Arachnida, Araneae, Scytodidae) of the granitic islands of Seychelles. Phelsuma 5 : 49-57 pdf

Sherwood D, Stevens N, Peters R, Fowler L, Joshua D, Balchin J (2025) Arachnological biosecurity on one of the world’s most remote inhabited islands: a checklist of stowaway spiders found on Saint Helena, South Atlantic Ocean. Natura Somogyiensis 45: 57-68 pdf

Van Keer J, Bosmans R (2014) A new species of Scytodes from Algeria (Araneae: Scytodidae), with a review of the species from the Maghreb. Zootaxa 3894: 131-140 pdf

WSC (2026) World Spider Catalog. Version 27. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch (13.2.2026) doi: 10.24436/2 pdf

Wunderlich J (1987) Die Spinnen der Kanarischen Inseln und Madeiras: Adaptive Radiation, Biogeographie, Revisionen und Neubeschreibungen. Triops, Langen, 435 pp. pdf

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