Gnaphosidae  Banks, 1892 / Scotophaeus  Simon, 1893   21 species

Scotophaeus blackwalli (Thorell, 1871)

Description

Tibial apophysis smaller than tibia. Embolus short and straight. Epigynal groove with lateral bulge. Prosoma light brown to red-brown. Opisthosoma light to red-brown.

Body length male: 4.7-9.3 mm
Body length female: 7.0-11.7 mm
Additional information

Under bark and in tree stumps, also in buildings

Distribution
  Presence
  No data
Global distribution (WSC 2026): Europe, Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey, Caucasus, Iran. Introduced to North America, Peru, Hawaii
Phenology
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
 male  female
Figures
Distribution List
Albania   (Deltshev et al., 2011b; Vrenozi, 2012; Blick, 2018) ||| Algeria   (Alioua & Bosmans, 2024) ||| Austria   (Thaler & Knoflach, 2004b) ||| Belgium   (Bosmans & Van Keer, 2017) ||| Bulgaria   (Blagoev et al., 2018) ||| Croatia   (Simon, 1878) ||| Denmark   (Scharff & Gudik-Sørensen, 2006) ||| France   (Le Peru, 2007) ||| France / Corsica   (Le Peru, 2007) ||| Georgia   (Otto, 2022) ||| Germany   (Blick et al., 2016) ||| Greece   (Bosmans & Chatzaki, 2005) ||| Hungary   (Samu & Szinetár, 1999) ||| Ireland   (Lavery, 2019) ||| Italy   (Isaia et al., 2025) ||| Italy / Sardinia   (Isaia et al., 2025) ||| Italy / Sicily   (Isaia et al., 2025) ||| Kosovo   (Vrenozi & Jäger, 2013) ||| Lithuania   (Biteniekytė & Rėlys, 2012) ||| Luxembourg   (Christian, 2015; Kreuels et al., 2019) ||| Malta   (Pfliegler et al., 2017) ||| Netherlands   (van Helsdingen, 2025a) ||| North Macedonia  Removed (Komnenov, unpubl.) ||| Northern Ireland   (Lavery, 2019) ||| Norway   (Aakra & Hauge, 2003) ||| Poland   (Rozwałka & Stanska, 2008) ||| Portugal   (Branco et al., 2019) ||| Romania   (Weiss & Petrișor, 1999) ||| Russia, Northern   (no references) ||| Russia, Southern   (Otto, 2022) ||| Serbia   (Grbić & Savić, 2010) ||| Slovakia   (Gajdoš et al., 1999) ||| Slovenia   (Kuralt et al., 2024) ||| Spain   (Branco et al., 2019) ||| Spain / Balearic Islands   (Branco et al., 2019) ||| Sweden   (Kronestedt, 2001) ||| Switzerland   (Maurer & Hänggi, 1990) ||| Tunisia   (Kmira et al., 2025) ||| Turkey (Asia)   (Lecigne, 2021a; Danışman et al., 2025a) ||| Turkey (Europe)   (Demircan & Topçu, 2016; Demircan Aksan & Topçu, 2022c) ||| Ukraine   (Kovblyuk et al., 2016) ||| United Kingdom   (Lavery, 2019) |||
References

Aakra K, Hauge E (2003) Checklist of Norwegian spiders (Arachnida: Araneae), including Svalbard and Jan Mayen. Norwegian Journal of Entomology 50: 109-129 pdf

Alioua & Bosmans (2024) Spiders of arid lands: the Ghardaïa region (northern Sahara) with seven new records for Algeria. Zootaxa 5497: 301-336 pdf

Almquist S (2007) Swedish Araneae, part 2 – families Dictynidae to Salticidae. Insect Systematics & Evolution, Supplement 63(2006): 285-601 pdf

Biteniekytė M, Rėlys V (2012) The checklist of Lithuanian spiders (Arachnida: Araneae). Biologija 57: 148-158 pdf

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) pdf

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 pdf

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 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 K (2017) Een herziene soortenlijst van de Belgische spinnen (Araneae). Nieuwsbrief van de Belgische Arachnologische Vereniging 32: 39-69 pdf

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

Brændegaard J (1966) Edderkopper: Eller Spindlere I Danmarks Fauna 72: 1-224 pdf

Christian S (2015) Micaria subopaca Westring, 1861, Scotophaeus blackwalli (Thorell, 1871) and S. scutulatus (L.Koch, 1866): three species of gnaphosids new to Luxembourg (Arachnida, Gnaophosidae). Bulletin de la Société des naturalistes luxembourgeois 117: 87-90 pdf

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 pdf

Deltshev C, Vrenozi B, Blagoev G, Lazarov S (2011b) Spiders of Albania – faunistic and zoogeographical review (Arachnida: Araneae). Acta Zoologica Bulgarica 63: 125-144 pdf

Demircan Aksan N, Topçu A (2022c) A preliminary checklist of the spider fauna of European Türkiye. Serket 19: 39-56 pdf

Demircan N, Topçu A (2016) First records for spider fauna of the European part of Turkey (Araneae). Serket 15: 85-91 pdf

Gajdoš P, Svatoň J, Sloboda J (1999) Katalóg pavúkov Slovenska. Catalogue of Slovakian spiders. Ústav kr. ekol. SAV, Bratislava, 337 pp.

Grbić G, Savić D (2010) Contribution to the knowledge of the spider fauna (Arachnida, Araneae) on the Fruška Gora Mt. Acta Entomologica Serbica 15: 243-260 pdf

Grimm U (1985) Die Gnaphosidae Mitteleuropas (Arachnida, Araneae). Abhandlungen des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins in Hamburg (NF) 26: 1-318 pdf

Helsdingen P J van (2025a) Catalogus van de Nederlandse spinnen. Versie 2025.1. 249 pp. 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

Komnenov M (unpubl.) .

Kovblyuk M M, Gnelitsa V A, Nadolny A A, Kastrygina Z A, Kukushkin, O V (2016) Spiders (Arachnida: Aranei) of the Karadag Nature Reserve (Crimea). Ekosystemy 3(33): 3-288 pdf

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 pdf

Kronestedt T (2001) Checklist of Spiders (Araneae) in Sweden [Preliminary version February 2001] pdf

Kuralt Ž, Pajek Arambašič N, Ferle M, Kostanjšek R (2024) A contribution to the Slovenian spider fauna – V. Natura Sloveniae 26: 29-42 pdf

Lavery A (2019) A revised checklist of the spiders of Great Britain and Ireland. Arachnology 18: 196-212 pdf

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

Lecigne S (2021a) A new species of Sintula (Linyphiidae), redescription of Brigittea innocens (Dictynidae) and eight spider species newly recorded for Turkey (Araneae). Arachnologische Mitteilungen 62: 11-34 pdf

Locket G H, Millidge A F (1951) British spiders. Vol. I. Ray Society, London, 310 pp. pdf

Løvbrekke H (unpubl.)

Maurer R, Hänggi A (1990) Katalog der schweizerischen Spinnen. Documenta Faunistica Helvetiae 12 pdf

Otto S (2022) Caucasian spiders. A faunistic database on the spiders of the Caucasus Ecoregion. Database version 02.2022. Internet: caucasus-spiders.info.

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

Platnick N I, Shadab M U (1977) A revision of the spider genera Herpyllus and Scotophaeus (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) in North America. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 159: 1-44 pdf

Roberts M J (1995) Collins Field Guide: Spiders of Britain & Northern Europe. HarperCollins, London, 383 pp. pdf

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 pdf

Samu F, Szinetár C (1999) Bibliographic check list of the Hungarian spider fauna. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 11: 161-184 pdf

Scharff N, Gudik-Sørensen O (2006) Katalog over Danmarks edderkopper (Araneae). Catalogue of the spiders of Denmark (Araneae). Entomologiske Meddelelser 74: 3-71 pdf

Simon E (1878) Les arachnides de France 4. Paris (Roret): 1-334 pdf

Thaler K, Knoflach B (2004b) Zur Faunistik der Spinnen (Araneae) von Österreich: Gnaphosidae, Thomisidae (Dionycha pro parte). Linzer Biologische Beiträge 36: 417-484 pdf

Tullgren A (1946) Svensk spindelfauna. 3. Egentiliga spinddlar. Araneae Fam 5-7. Clubionidae, Zoridae och Gnaphosidae. Stockholm (Entomol Fören.): 141 pp. pdf

Vrenozi B (2012) A collection of spiders (Araneae) in Albanian coastal areas. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 44: 41-46 pdf

Vrenozi B, Jäger P (2013) Spiders (Araneae) from Albania and Kosovo in the collection of Carl Friedrich Roewer. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 46: 17-26 pdf

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 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

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