Cithaeronidae is a small family of araneomorph spiders first described by Simon in 1893[1] Female Cithaeron are about 5 to 7 millimetres (0.20 to 0.28 in) long, males about 4 millimetres (0.16 in).[2]
| Cithaeronidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| C. praedonius from Thailand | |
 | |
| Cithaeron praedonius | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Cithaeronidae Simon, 1893 |
| Genera | |
| Diversity | |
| 2 genera, 10 species | |
 | |
| blue: reported countries (WSC) green: observation hotspots (iNaturalist) | |
They are pale yellowish, fast-moving spiders that actively hunt at night and rest during the day, building silken retreats below rocks.[3] They prefer very hot, dry stony places.[2]
Distribution
editWhile Inthaeron occurs only in India, members of the genus Cithaeron are 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.[3] 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)
Genera
editReferences
edit- ↑ Simon, E. (1893). Histoire naturelle das araignées.
- 1 2 Murphy, Frances; Murphy, John (2000). "An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia". Malaysian Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur.
- 1 2 Carvalho, L.S.; Bonaldo, A. B.; Brescovit, A. D. (2007). "The first record of the family Cithaeronidae (Araneae, Gnaphosoidea) to the new world" (PDF). Revista Brasileira de Zoologia. 24 (2): 512–514. doi:10.1590/S0101-81752007000200034.
- ↑ "Family Cithaeronidae Simon, 1893". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
- 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
