Theridion mystaceum L. Koch, 1870
Description
Male
Conductor laterally with small projecting tip. Palp: tibia 0.5 times as long as bulb. Prosoma 1.1 mm long. Characters as in female, but with epigastric area markedly bulgung.
Body length male: 2.0-3.0 mmFemale
Epigyne with a circular opening, copulatory openings well visible, more apart from each other than in T. betteni. Vulva with entrance ducts in numerous narrow loops. Prosoma yellowish-brown, tinged with black, eye region darker. Prosoma 1-1.2 mm long. Colouration and pattern as in T. melanurum. Sternum and chelicerae brown, sometimes almost black. Legs grey-yellow, annulated with dark brown. Opisthosoma very variable, mostly spotted brown, ventrally dark brown with white spot behind epigastric furrow.
Body length female: 2.0-3.0 mmAdditional information
Mainly in forests: coniferous, deciduous or mixed forests, also in heathlands, marshes, cereal fields, buildings, on walls of houses, bushes in meadows, hedges, on tree trunks and evergreen bushes.
Distribution
Phenology
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
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Figures
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Roberts 1995)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Locket & Millidge 1953)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Locket et al. 1974)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Vanuytven 2014)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Løvbrekke unpubl.)
Pedipalp, retrolateral view
(Domènech et al. 2020)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Domènech et al. 2020)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Breitling 2020)
Embolus and conductor
(Locket et al. 1974)
Embolus
(Domènech et al. 2020)
Habitus, dorsal view
(Domènech et al. 2020)
Epigyne
(Aakra 2000a)
Epigyne
(Roberts 1995)
Epigyne
(Locket & Millidge 1953)
Epigyne, ventral view
(Vanuytven 2014)
Epigyne
(Løvbrekke unpubl.)
Vulva
(Aakra 2000a)
Vulva
(Heimer & Nentwig 1991)
Vulva
(Locket et al. 1974)
Vulva, ventral view
(Vanuytven 2014)
Vulva
(Løvbrekke unpubl.)
Vulva
(Fjellberg unpubl.)
Vulva, dorsal view
(Domènech et al. 2020)
Vulva, ventral view
(Domènech et al. 2020)
Habitus, dorsal view
(Domènech et al. 2020)
Habitus
(Locket & Millidge 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
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Aakra K, Hauge E (2003) Checklist of Norwegian spiders (Arachnida: Araneae), including Svalbard and Jan Mayen. Norwegian Journal of Entomology 50: 109-129
Barrientos J A, Febrer J B (2020) Arañas (Arachnida, Araneae) de Menorca (Islas Baleares, España). 3: nuevos datos. Revista Ibérica de Aracnología 36: 69-78
Beladjal L, Bouseksou S, Kherbouche-Abrous O, Alioua Y, Bosmans R (2025) First exhaustive catalog of spiders of Algeria (Arachnida: Araneae). Zootaxa 5598: 1-185
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Biteniekytė M, Rėlys V (2012) The checklist of Lithuanian spiders (Arachnida: Araneae). Biologija 57: 148-158
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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
Breitling R (2020) South European spiders from the Duffey collection in the Manchester Museum (Arachnida: Araneae). Arachnology 18: 333-362
Cawley M (2001) Distribution records for uncommon spiders (Araneae) including five species new to Ireland. Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 25: 135-143
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Domènech M, Crespo L C, Enguídanos A, Arnedo M A (2020) Mitochondrial discordance in closely related Theridion spiders (Araneae, Theridiidae), with description of a new species of the T. melanurum group. Zoosystematics and Evolution 96: 159-173
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Updates
| 30-10-2025 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 22-09-2025 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 19-08-2025 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 16-07-2025 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 08-05-2024 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 09-01-2024 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 26-07-2020 | Image insert | |
| 19-07-2020 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 05-07-2020 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 06-05-2020 | Image insert | |
| 06-05-2020 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 18-03-2020 | Distribution insert | Detail |
| 06-01-2020 | Image insert | |
| 28-06-2019 | Distribution update | Detail |
| 13-03-2019 | Image insert |