Theridiidae  Sundevall, 1833 / Theridion  Walckenaer, 1805   63 species

Theridion cinereum Thorell, 1875

Description
Male

Prosoma 1 mm long. Characters as in female.

Body length male: 2.5 mm
Female

Epigyne wider than long, with a S-shaped structure on each side. Prosoma dark brown, darker on margin, 1.2 mm long. Sternum dark brown. Legs light, with blackisch annulations. Opisthosoma with dark and light blotches, dorsally with a median band, bordered with dark blotches, ventrally blackish, with 2 light blotches near spinnerets.

Body length female: 3.5 mm
Additional information

In leaf litter, under stones, in pine forest and shrubs on dry slopes. Altitude up to 1400 m.

Distribution
  Presence
  No data
Distribution comment: Georgia and Iran (Seropian et al., 2024a, Zamani et al., 2021): not conspecific with the other figs (Marusik, in litt.)
Global distribution (WSC 2026): Switzerland and Italy to Ukraine and Turkey, Caucasus, Russia (Europe) to Central Asia, Iran
Phenology
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
 male  female
Figures
Distribution List
Albania   (Deltshev et al., 2011b) ||| Austria   (Knoflach & Thaler, 1998) ||| Azerbaijan   (Nuruyeva & Zamani, 2025) ||| Bulgaria   (Blagoev et al., 2018) ||| Cyprus   (Bosmans et al., 2019c) ||| Czechia   (Dolansky & Macek, 2014; Řezáč et al., 2021; Růžička & Řezáč, 2022a) ||| Georgia   (Seropian et al., 2024a) ||| Greece   (Bosmans & Chatzaki, 2005) ||| Greece / Crete   (Bosmans et al., 2013) ||| Italy   (Isaia et al., 2025) ||| North Macedonia   (Komnenov, 2014) ||| Russia, Southern   (Otto, 2022; Ponomarev, 2022) ||| Russia, Western   (no references) ||| Slovakia   (Dolansky & Macek, 2014; Gajdoš & Svatoň, 2007) ||| Switzerland   (Hänggi & Stäubli, 2012) ||| Turkey (Asia)   (Danışman et al., 2025a; Marusik et al., 2009c) ||| Ukraine   (Kovblyuk & Kastrygina, 2015b) |||
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) 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

Bosmans R, Van Keer J, Russell-Smith A, Kronestedt T, Alderweireldt M, Bosselaers J, De Koninck H (2013) Spiders of Crete (Araneae). A catalogue of all currently known species from the Greek island of Crete. Nieuwsbrief van de Belgische Arachnologische Vereniging 28 (Suppl. 1): 1-147 pdf

Brignoli P M (1984b) Ragni di Grecia XII. Nuovi dati su varie famiglie (Araneae). Revue Suisse de Zoologie 91: 281-321 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

Dolansky J, Macek R (2014) Snovačka popelavá Theridion cinereum Thorell, 1875 – nový druh pro Česko i Slovensko. Pavouk 37: 4-5 pdf

Gajdoš P, Svatoň J (2007) Supplementary records to catalogue of Slovakian spiders. Entomofauna Carpathica 19: 21-26 pdf

Hänggi A, Stäubli A (2012) Nachträge zum „Katalog der schweizerischen Spinnen“: 4. Neunachweise von 2002 bis 2011. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 44: 59-76 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

Knoflach B (1998) Mating in Theridion varians Hahn and related species (Araneae: Theridiidae). Journal of Natural History 32: 545-604 pdf

Knoflach B, Thaler K (1998) Kugelspinnen und verwandte Familien von Österreich: ökofaunistische Übersicht (Araneae: Theridiidae, Anapidae, Mysmenidae, Nesticidae). Stapfia 667-712 pdf

Komnenov M (2014) Spider fauna of the Osogovo Mt. Range, Northeastern Macedonia. Fauna Balkana 2: 1-267 pdf

Kovblyuk M M, Kastrygina Z A (2015b) Updated catalogue of the spiders (Arachnida, Aranei) of the Crimea. Ukainska Entomofaunistyka 6(2): 1-81 pdf

Marusik Y M, Kunt K B, Danışman T (2009c) Spiders (Aranei) new to the fauna of Turkey. 2. New species records of Theridiidae. Arthropoda Selecta 18: 69-75 pdf

Nuruyeva T, Zamani A (2025) An annotated checklist of the spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Azerbaijan. Zootaxa 5680: 1-168 pdf

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

Ponomarev A V (2022) Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of the southeast of the Russian Plain: catalogue, the fauna specific features. SSC RAS Publishers, Rostov-on-Don, 640 pp. pdf

Řezáč M, Růžička V, Hula V, Dolanský J, Machač O, Roušar A (2021) Spiders newly observed in Czechia in recent years – overlooked or invasive species? BioInvasions Records 10: 555-566 pdf

Růžička V, Řezáč M (2022a) Seznam pavouků České republiky. List of spiders of the Czech Republic. Online at https://www.arachnology.cz/seznam-pavouku-cr-26.html and https://www.arachnology.cz/en/seznam-pavouku-cr-26.html pdf

Seropian A, Bulbulashvili N, Krammer H-J, Thormann J, Hein N, Karalashvili L, Karalashvili N, Datunashvili A (2024a) Picking pearls from the Silk Road: insights into the spider (Arachnida, Araneae) diversity in Georgia from the Caucasus Barcode of Life (CaBoL) project. Part III. Caucasiana 3: 89-118 pdf

Thaler K (1966) Fragmenta Faunistica Tirolensia (Diplopoda, Arachnida). Berichte des Naturwissenschaftlich-Medizinischen Vereins in Innsbruck 54: 151-157 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

Zamani A, Nadolny A A, Esyunin S L, Marusik Y M (2021) New data on the spider fauna of Iran (Arachnida: Araneae), part VIII. Zoosystematica Rossica 30: 279-297 pdf

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