Artema atlanta

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]

Artema atlanta
A. atlanta from Barrow Island, Western Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Pholcidae
Genus: Artema
Species:
A. atlanta
Binomial name
Artema atlanta
Synonyms[1]
  • 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

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
  1. "Taxon details Artema atlanta Walckenaer, 1837", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 2016-04-09
  2. Queensland Museum: Retrieved 2018-01-16.
  3. Dippenaar-Schoeman, A. A field guide to the spiders of South Africa. LAPA Publishers, 2014.
  4. BugGuide: Artema atlanta
  5. Saaristo MI 2001: Pholcid spiders of the granitic Seychelles (Araneae, Pholicidae). Phelsuma 9:15-17
  6. Lee P 2005: An imported pholcid in Felixstowe. News. Br. arachnol. Soc. 102:7

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.
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