Trembling spiders

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Trembling spiders
Trembling spider, female

Trembling spider, female

Systematics
Class : Arachnids (arachnida)
Order : Spiders (Araneae)
Subordination : Real spiders (Araneomorphae)
Partial order : Haplogynae
Superfamily : Pholcoidea
Family : Trembling spiders
Scientific name
Pholcidae
CL Koch , 1851
Portrait of a trembling spider, male

Tremble spiders (Pholcidae) are a family of real spiders and in 2016 comprised a total of 80 genera with 1506 species .

Trembling spiders are sometimes confused with harvestmen (opiliones) because of some similarities, especially because of their very long legs in relation to the body .

Distribution and genera in Europe

With the exception of Antarctica and some islands, trembling spiders are distributed worldwide, but most species colonize the primary forests of the tropical and subtropical regions. Some representatives can also be found in caves and rocky environments.

In Germany , Austria and Switzerland four genera with five species have so far been recorded; however, their distribution is confusing and neighboring zonobiomes are much more species-rich. The quiver spiders native to the German-speaking region immigrated from the eastern Mediterranean . In coastal areas of Europe they are almost completely absent; in Belgium they are replaced by pantropical species, and in western and southern Europe they are replaced by quiver spiders from the western Mediterranean.

The following genera occur in Europe:

description

They are very small to medium-sized spiders (up to approx. 10 mm) with extremely long and delicate legs (up to approx. 50 mm). The coloring usually consists of inconspicuous gray or yellow tones, sometimes with dark drawings and, with a few exceptions, is contourless.

Trembling spiders weave irregular and diffuse spatial webs of three-dimensional dimensions and of considerable size, through which they move skillfully and which enable them to overpower much larger animals.

With a few exceptions, the silk of the ecribellate trembling spiders is dry (glue-free), extremely stretchy and curled up like wool. This usually makes it impossible for prey to break free. Escape reactions only lead to more entanglement. A network is constantly being built and can also overlap with those of conspecifics, e.g. B. in the great trembling spider . In Central Europe it is found almost exclusively in buildings, preferably at low heights, therefore mainly in cellars. The other native representatives of the family prefer more or less protected places, tree hollows and rock hollows in the open air. Tremble spiders are predominantly nocturnal.

The behavior of the genus Pholcus , which gives the genus its name in the German-speaking world , to tremble when there is danger in the net, is not shown by all species, and even with these it can often only be observed in young animals. The tremor is a rapid swaying that blurs the spider's outlines to confuse an attacker.

A good distinguishing feature of the quiver spiders from other families is the structure of their chelicerae , in which a tiny spine is formed ventrally and facilitates the device's tweezer-like function. In addition to the quiver spiders, this form of the jaw claw is only found in real spiders in the Sicariidae and some orb web spiders . The position of the eyes is a characteristic of the genus within the trembling spider.

Systematics

The World Spider Catalog currently lists 80 genera and 1506 species for the quiver spiders. (As of June 2016)

gallery

  • Trembling spider with prey

  • Trembling spider with egg balls in the clutch care

  • Trembling spider with young animals in a tangle

  • Close up of a male trembling spider

  • Tremor spider ( Pholcus sp.) With young animals

Web links

Commons : Tremble Spiders (Pholcidae)  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

literature

  • Stefan Heimer, Wolfgang Nentwig: Spinning Central Europe. Paul Parey, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-489-53534-0 .
  • Rainer F. Foelix: Biology of the spiders. Thieme, Stuttgart 1979, ISBN 3-13-575801-X .
  • Dick Jones: The Cosmos Spider Guide. Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-440-06141-8 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Natural History Museum of the Burgergemeinde Bern: World Spider Catalog Version 17.0 - Pholcidae . Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  2. ↑ Pamela A. Zobel-Thropp, Jennifer Mullins, Charles Kristensen, Brent A. Kronmiller, Cynthia L. David, Linda A. Breci, Greta J. Binford: Not so Dangerous After All? Venom Composition and Potency of the Pholcid (Daddy Long-Leg) Spider Physocyclus mexicanus Front. Ecol. Evol., July 2019 doi: 10.3389 / fevo.2019.00256
  3. ↑ Tropical-African quiver spiders , project description by the Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig (ZFMK); accessed on June 6, 2016
  4. ^ Gertsch, Willis J. 1979: American Spiders, 2nd edition. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York. ISBN 0-442-22649-7 .
  5. ^ Kurt Stüber: The long-legged cellar spider. ( Memento from April 11, 2001 in the Internet Archive ) On: mpiz-koeln.mpg.de from July 21, 1999.
  6. ^ Recluse Identification The Recluse Room