Prodidomus

{{Short description|Genus of spiders}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026|cs1-dates=ly}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Prodidomus purpurascens 530307662.jpg | image_caption = male ''P. purpurascens'' | image2 = Prodidomus rufus 26508821.jpg | image2_caption = ''P. rufus'' | taxon = Prodidomus | authority = Hentz, 1847<ref name=wsc /> | type_species = ''P. rufus'' | type_species_authority = Hentz, 1847 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = 54, see text | synonyms = *''Hyltonia'' Birabén, 1954<ref name=Plat2006 /> | synonyms_ref = <ref name=wsc /> }}

'''''Prodidomus''''' is a genus of long-spinneret ground spiders that was first described by Nicholas Marcellus Hentz in 1847.<ref name=Hent1847 />

==Distribution== Spiders in this genus are found in Africa, Europe, Oceania, Asia, South America, the United States, on the Greater Antilles, and Saint Helena.<ref name=wsc />

==Description== {{see also|Glossary of spider terms}}

''Prodidomus'' are small spiders with a total length of males 1.9–4.3 mm and females 1.8–5.0 mm.<ref name="dippenaar2023" />

Carapace broadly oval, frontally straight, weakly covered with grey setae or bare. Longitudinal fovea absent or weak. Eight eyes with anterior row straight or weakly recurved and posterior row strongly procurved. Four eyes of each side virtually contiguous, forming triangle with posterior lateral eyes largest. Anterior median eyes circular and dark, while posterior median eyes are separated by their long diameter or less. Clypeus low, shorter than anterior lateral eyes diameter, curved downwards. Chelicerae widely divergent.<ref name="dippenaar2023" />

Abdomen pale, with or without scattered, short, recumbent, grey setae. Anterior lateral spinnerets 10–20% of abdominal length, contiguous or slightly separated, with long piriform gland spigots. Posterior median eyes small while posterior lateral eyes are greatly enlarged and canoe-shaped. Legs laterigrade with leg formula 4123 and sparse setae with few weak spines.<ref name="dippenaar2023" />

==Species== {{as of|2025|9}} it contains 54 species:<ref name=wsc /> {{Div col}} * ''Prodidomus amaranthinus'' (Lucas, 1846) – Mediterranean * ''Prodidomus aurantiacus'' Simon, 1890 – Yemen * ''Prodidomus beattyi'' Platnick, 1977 – Australia (Western Australia, Northern Territory) * ''Prodidomus bendee'' Platnick & Baehr, 2006 – Australia (Queensland) * ''Prodidomus bicolor'' Denis, 1957 – Sudan * ''Prodidomus birmanicus'' Thorell, 1897 – Myanmar * ''Prodidomus bryantae'' Alayón, 1995 – Cuba * ''Prodidomus capensis'' Purcell, 1904 – South Africa * ''Prodidomus chaperi'' (Simon, 1884) – India * ''Prodidomus dalmasi'' Berland, 1920 – Kenya * ''Prodidomus djibutensis'' Dalmas, 1919 – Somalia * ''Prodidomus domesticus'' Lessert, 1938 – DR Congo * ''Prodidomus duffeyi'' Cooke, 1964 – Ascension Island * ''Prodidomus flavidus'' (Simon, 1884) – Algeria * ''Prodidomus flavipes'' Lawrence, 1952 – South Africa * ''Prodidomus flavus'' Platnick & Baehr, 2006 – Australia (Queensland) * ''Prodidomus geniculosus'' Dalmas, 1919 – Tunisia * ''Prodidomus granulosus'' Cooke, 1964 – Rwanda * ''Prodidomus inexpectatus'' Zamani, Chatzaki, Esyunin & Marusik, 2021 – Iran * ''Prodidomus kimberley'' Platnick & Baehr, 2006 – Australia (Western Australia, Northern Territory) * ''Prodidomus lampeli'' Cooke, 1964 – Ethiopia * ''Prodidomus latebricola'' Cooke, 1964 – Tanzania * ''Prodidomus longiventris'' (Dalmas, 1919) – Philippines * ''Prodidomus margala'' Platnick, 1976 – Pakistan * ''Prodidomus maximus'' Lessert, 1936 – Mozambique * ''Prodidomus nigellus'' Simon, 1890 – Yemen * ''Prodidomus nigricaudus'' Simon, 1893 – Venezuela * ''Prodidomus opacithorax'' Simon, 1893 – Venezuela * ''Prodidomus palkai'' Cooke, 1972 – India * ''Prodidomus papavanasanemensis'' Cooke, 1972 – India * ''Prodidomus purpurascens'' Purcell, 1904 – South Africa * ''Prodidomus purpureus'' Simon, 1907 – Guinea-Bissau * ''Prodidomus redikorzevi'' Spassky, 1940 – Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan * ''Prodidomus reticulatus'' Lawrence, 1927 – Namibia * ''Prodidomus revocatus'' Cooke, 1964 – Mauritius * ''Prodidomus robustus'' Dalmas, 1919 – Ethiopia * ''Prodidomus rodolphianus'' Dalmas, 1919 – Kenya * ''Prodidomus rollasoni'' Cooke, 1964 – Libya * ''Prodidomus rufus'' Hentz, 1847 – Native probably to Africa, Mediterranean, Israel, Iraq. Introduced to USA, Cuba, Chile, Argentina, St. Helena, China, Japan, New Caledonia (type species) * ''Prodidomus saharanpurensis'' (Tikader, 1982) – India * ''Prodidomus sampeyae'' Platnick & Baehr, 2006 – Australia (Western Australia) * ''Prodidomus seemani'' Platnick & Baehr, 2006 – Australia (Queensland) * ''Prodidomus simoni'' Dalmas, 1919 – South Africa * ''Prodidomus singulus'' Suman, 1967 – Hawaii * ''Prodidomus sirohi'' Platnick, 1976 – India * ''Prodidomus stella'' (Saaristo, 2002) – Seychelles * ''Prodidomus tigrinus'' Dalmas, 1919 – Sierra Leone * ''Prodidomus tirumalai'' Cooke, 1972 – India * ''Prodidomus trihelicoides'' Seropian, Bulbulashvili, Makharadze & Baznikin, 2024 – Georgia * ''Prodidomus venkateswarai'' Cooke, 1972 – India * ''Prodidomus watongwensis'' Cooke, 1964 – Tanzania * ''Prodidomus woodleigh'' Platnick & Baehr, 2006 – Australia (Western Australia) * ''Prodidomus wunderlichi'' Deeleman-Reinhold, 2001 – Thailand * ''Prodidomus yorke'' Platnick & Baehr, 2006 – Australia (Queensland) {{Div col end}}

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=wsc>{{cite web |title=Gen. Prodidomus Hentz, 1847 |website=World Spider Catalog |access-date=24 September 2025 |publisher=Natural History Museum Bern |url=http://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/genus/2459 |doi=10.24436/2 }}</ref> <ref name="dippenaar2023">{{cite book |last1=Dippenaar-Schoeman |first1=A.S. |last2=Haddad |first2=C.R. |last3=Foord |first3=S.H. |last4=Lotz |first4=L.N. |year=2023 |title=The Prodidomidae of South Africa |publisher=South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide |version=1 |pages=1–42 |doi=10.5281/zenodo.7515818 |url=https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7515818 |access-date=24 September 2025}}{{Creative Commons text attribution notice|cc=by4 }}</ref> <ref name=Hent1847>{{cite journal |last=Hentz |first=N. M. |year=1847 |title=Descriptions and figures of the araneides of the United States |journal=Boston Journal of Natural History |pages=443–478 |volume=5 |author-link=Nicholas Marcellus Hentz }}</ref> <ref name=Plat2006>{{cite journal |last1=Platnick |first1=N. I. |last2=Baehr |first2=B. |year=2006 |title=A revision of the Australasian ground spiders of the family Prodidomidae (Araneae, Gnaphosoidea) |journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History |volume=298 |page=9 |doi=10.1206/0003-0090(2006)298[1:AROTAG]2.0.CO;2 |doi-access=free }}</ref> }}

Category:Araneomorphae genera Category:Cosmopolitan spiders Category:Prodidominae