Argyrodes argentatus

Taxobox
name = Silver comb-footed spider


image_caption =
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regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Arachnida
ordo = Araneae
subordo = Araneomorphae
familia = Theridiidae
genus = "Argyrodes"
species = "A. argentatus"
binomial = "Argyrodes argentatus"
binomial_authority = O. P-Cambridge, 1880
range_

range_map_width = 250px
synonyms =

"Argyrodes argentatus" is a kleptoparasitic spider.

In Singapore, it is often seen in webs of "Nephila antipodiana".

On Guam it can often be found hanging in webs of the much larger spider "Argiope appensa": while "A. appensa" can reach a body length of about 7cm, "A. argentatus" females reach only 3mm, and males 2mm at the most.

Like in rats, the male seals the female's epigyne with a plug after mating, preventing the female from further mating.

Distribution

It has been found in China, Japan, Guam, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, the East Indies (Singapore, New Guinea), and Hawai'i.

Name

The species name "argentatus" means "silvery" in Latin.

References

* Pickard-Cambridge, O. (1880). On some new and little known spiders of the genus "Argyrodes". "Proc. zool. Soc. Lond." 1880:320-344.
* Kerr, A.M. (2005). Behavior of web-invading spiders "Argyrodes argentatus" (Theridiidae) in "Argiope appensa" (Araneidae) host webs in Guam. "Journal of Arachnology" 33(1): [http://www.americanarachnology.org/JoA_tocs/JOA_v33n1.html Abstract] [http://www.geocities.com/oxymonocanthus3/Kerr2004JArachnol.pdf PDF]

External links

* [http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/spiders/text/Argyrodes_argentatus.htm Guide to common Singapore spiders: "A. argentatus"]