Cithaeronidae

Cithaeronidae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Suborder:	Araneomorphae
Superfamily:	Gnaphosoidea
Family:	Cithaeronidae Simon, 1893
Genera
see text
Diversity
2 genera, 6 species

The Cithaeronidae are a small spider family with only seven described species in two genera.

Biology

Cithaeronidae are fast-moving spiders that actively hunt at night. They rest during the day in silken retreats they construct below rocks. Female Cithaeron are about 5 to 7 mm long, males about 4 mm. They are pale yellowish, and have a preference for very hot, dry stony places.

Distribution

While Inthaeron occurs only in India, members of the genus Cithaeron can be found in Africa, India and parts of Eurasia. Three adult females of C. praedonius were found in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil. As they were found in and near human housings, they presumably were accidentally introduced. This is probably also the case for finds in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Another population of C. praedonius has been discovered in Florida U.S.A., with reports of a stable breeding population.(Pers. comm. Joseph Stiles)

Species

Cithaeron O. P-Cambridge, 1872

• Cithaeron contentum Jocqué & Russell-Smith, 2011 — South Africa
• Cithaeron delimbatus Strand, 1906 — East Africa
• Cithaeron indicus Platnick & Gajbe, 1994 — India
• Cithaeron jocqueorum Platnick, 1991 — Ivory Coast
• Cithaeron praedonius O. P.-Cambridge, 1872 — Greece, Libya to Malaysia, Australia and Brazil
• Cithaeron reimoseri Platnick, 1991 — Ethiopia

Inthaeron Platnick, 1991

• Inthaeron rossi Platnick, 1991 — India

References

• Murphy, Frances & Murphy, John (2000): An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Malaysian Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur.
• Platnick, N.I. (2002): A revision of the Australasian ground spiders of the families Ammoxenidae, Cithaeronidae, Gallieniellidae, and Trochanteriidae (Araneae, Gnaphosoidea). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 271. PDF (26Mb) — Abstract
• Carvalho, L.S.; Bonaldo, A.B. & Brescovit, A.D. (2007): The first record of the family Cithaeronidae (Araneae, Gnaphosoidea) to the new world. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 24(2): 512–514. PDF (124kb)
• Platnick, Norman I. (2014): The world spider catalog, version 14.5. American Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5531/db.iz.0001
• Edwards, G.B. & Stiles, J.(2011): The first North American records of the synanthropic spider.

External links

• Hi-Res Photographs of Cithaeron praedonius