Cheiracanthium inclusum | |
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Inside a house during the winter | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
Class: | Arachnida |
Order: | Araneae |
Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
Family: | Eutichuridae |
Genus: | Cheiracanthium |
Species: | C. inclusum |
Binomial name | |
Cheiracanthium inclusum (Hentz, 1847) |
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Synonyms | |
Clubiona inclusa |
Clubiona inclusa
Clubiona subflava
Cheiracanthium lanipes
Cheiracanthium edentulum
Clubiona melanostoma
Cheiracanthium keyserlingii
Cheiracanthium subflavum
Cheiracanthium ragazzii
Cheiracanthium viride
Cheiracanthium ferum
Cheiracanthium debile
Eutichurus frontalis
Cheiracanthium popayanse
Cheiracanthium gracilipes
Cheiracanthium africanum
Chiracanthops mandibularis
Matidia haplogyna
Radulphius seminermis
Cheiracanthium leitaoi
Cheiracanthium melloi
Radulphius brachyapophysis
Cheiracanthium nigropalpatum
Cheiracanthium inclusum, alternately known as the black-footed yellow sac spider or the American yellow sac spider (in order to distinguish it from its European cousin C. punctorium), was formerly classified as a true sac spider (of the family Clubionidae), and then placed in the family Miturgidae, but now belongs to family Eutichuridae. It is a rather small pale yellow species that is indigenous to the Americas and can be found living in the foliage of forests and gardens but also can inhabit human homes. Despite common beliefs of necrosis, Cheiracanthium bites cause only localized swelling.C. inclusum is closely related to Cheiracanthium mildei, an introduced species native to Europe which is similar in appearance and natural history and can also be found in North American homes.
Like all spiders, C. inclusum has two body segments: a cephalothorax (fused head and thorax) and an abdomen. In females, the body measures between 5 and 9mm and in males, 4 to 8mm. The leg span however can be up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) with the front pair of legs being longer than the other 3 pairs. Males tend to have a narrower body and a larger leg span than females.C. inclusum gets its 2 common names (yellow sac and black-footed spider) from its appearance. It is a pale yellow-beige colour with dark brown markings on its palps, chelicerae (jaws) and on the ends of its tarsi (feet). There is also often an orange-brown stripe running down the top-centre of its abdomen.C. inclusum has 8 similarly sized eyes, distributed in 2 parallel horizontal rows. However, ocular input is of minor import, due to the absence of light during the spider's nocturnal activities. The spider relies more on its palps, sensory structures just behind the chelicerae, on the cephalothorax, to sense its environment.