Enoplognatha

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Genus of spiders

title: "Enoplognatha" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["theridiidae", "theridiidae-genera", "cosmopolitan-spiders"] description: "Genus of spiders" topic_path: "general/theridiidae" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enoplognatha" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of spiders ::

| name = | image = (MHNT) Enoplognatha ovata on Daucus carota.jpg | image_caption = female E. ovata | image2 = Enoplognatha.abrupta.female.-.tanikawa.jpg | image2_caption = female E. abrupta | taxon = Enoplognatha | authority = Pavesi, 1880 | type_species = E. mandibularis | type_species_authority = (Lucas, 1846) | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = 75, see text | synonyms = *Phyllonethis Thorell, 1869

  • Symopagia Simon, 1894 | synonyms_ref =

Enoplognatha is a genus of comb-footed spiders first described by P. Pavesi in 1880. They were characterized by both a large colulus and a subspherical abdomen, with males usually have enlarged chelicerae. It is considered a senior synonym of Symopagia.

Life style

These spiders have a diverse lifestyle and make cob-webs under stones or ground debris while some specimens are sampled from vegetation where they build webs on, between and around leaves. The white egg sacs are deposited in the web.

In South Africa, Theridion purcelli and Enoplognatha molesta were the most abundant theridiids found in citrus orchards in South Africa. In cotton fields, E. molesta was the most common species, followed by T. purcelli. In the laboratory, both species fed on red spider mites, the first three larval stages and adult stages of Helicoverpa armigera, leafhoppers and aphids.

Description

Enoplognatha molesta 300891781 542175089.jpg|female E. molesta with egg sacs Enoplognatha molesta 309176943 557888900.jpg|female E. molesta Enoplognatha molesta 300890312 542173067.jpg|male E. molesta Enoplognatha molesta 300890312 542173136.jpg|male E. molesta

Among the theridiids, they are medium to large sized. E. maricopa, a red-brown spider with a mottled purplish abdomen, has males that can reach a length of 3.4 mm, while females typically reach 2.9 mm. E. peruviana females can grow to 6.5 mm long, and female E. zapfeae can reach up to 9.2 mm.

Species

, this genus includes 75 species with a cosmopolitan distribution, including Greenland and Western Australia:

References

References

  1. "Genus Enoplognatha". World Spider Catalog.
  2. (2021). "The Theridiidae of South Africa. Part 1 A-P. Version 1". South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide.
  3. Levi, H.W.. (1962). "The Spider Genera ''Steatoda'' and ''Enoplognatha'' in America (Araneae, Theridiidae)". [[Psyche (entomological journal).
  4. (1962). "The genera of the spider family Theridiidae". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology.
  5. Pavesi, P.. (1880). "Studi sugli Aracnidi africani. I. Aracnidi di Tunisia". Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova.

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theridiidaetheridiidae-generacosmopolitan-spiders