Species of spider
| Artema atlanta
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| A. atlanta from Barrow Island, Western Australia
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain:
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Eukaryota
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| Kingdom:
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Animalia
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| Phylum:
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Arthropoda
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| Subphylum:
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Chelicerata
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| Class:
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Arachnida
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| Order:
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Araneae
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| Infraorder:
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Araneomorphae
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| Family:
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Pholcidae
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| Genus:
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Artema
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| Species:
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A. atlanta
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| Binomial name
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Artema atlanta
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| Synonyms[1]
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- Artema mauriciana Walckenaer, 1837
- Pholcus sisyphoides Doleschall, 1857
- Artema convexa Blackwall, 1858
- Pholcus borbonicus Vinson, 1863
- Artema mauricia Vinson, 1863
- Pholcus rotundatus Karsch, 1879
- Artema sisyphoides (Doleschall, 1857)
- Artema kochii Kulczyński, 1901
- Crossopriza sex-signata Franganillo, 1926
- Coroia magna González-Sponga, 2005
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Artema atlanta is a species of spider of the family Pholcidae with a pantropical distribution. It is commonly known as the giant daddy-long-legs spider, in Australia[2] and South Africa.[3] With a body length of 8–11 mm, it is the largest pholcid in the world.[4]
Description
Specimens of both sexes have a body length of 8–11 mm.[5] Their first pair of legs is roughly 6.5 times the length of the body.[5]
Distribution
A. atlanta can be found in all tropical regions, such as the Seychelles, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam[5] and Brazil.[6] It can be found on every continent (apart from Antarctica).[6] It has been introduced into Belgium (Antwerp),[1] and North America, where (as of 2009) colonies can be found in southern Arizona and southeastern California in the United States.[4] Two spiders were found in a shipping container which arrived in England in 2004.[6]
It is suggested that the species originates from the Old World, although it was first described from Brazil.[6]
References
Further reading
- van Keer, K. & van Keer, J. (2001): Ingeburgerde exotische trilspinnen (Araneae: Pholcidae) in Antwerpse haven en enkele algemene bedenkingen bij spinnenmigratie. Nwsbr. Belg. Arachnol. Ver. 16(3): 81–86.
External links
