{{Short description|Species of spider}} {{Speciesbox | image = Scytodes.fusca.female.-.tanikawa.jpg | image_caption = Female | image2 = Scytodes.fusca.male.-.tanikawa.jpg | image2_caption = Male | taxon = Scytodes fusca | authority = Walckenaer, 1837<ref name="walckenaer1837" /> | synonyms = {{Species list |Scytodes domestica|Doleschall, 1859 |Scytodes guianensis|Taczanowski, 1872 |Scytodes vittata|Keyserling, 1877 |Dictis fumida|Thorell, 1891 |Scytodes hebraica|Simon, 1892 |Scytodes bajula|Simon, 1892 |Scytodes campinensis|Mello-Leitão, 1918 |Scytodes discolor|Mello-Leitão, 1918 |Scytodes iguassuensis|Mello-Leitão, 1918 |Scytodes nannipes|Chamberlin & Ivie, 1936 |Scytodes torquatus|Kraus, 1955 }} }}
'''''Scytodes fusca''''' is a species of spider in the family Scytodidae.<ref name="wsc" /> It is commonly known as the '''dark common spitting spider''' and is a cosmopolitan species that has been introduced to numerous regions worldwide.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />
==Distribution== ''Scytodes fusca'' is a cosmopolitan species described by Walckenaer in 1837. Originally from Central and southern America, it has been introduced St. Helena, Europe, Africa, Seychelles, India, Myanmar, Indonesia, China, Japan, and Hawaii.<ref name="wsc" />
In South Africa, it is recorded from six provinces and is found at elevations ranging from 16 to 1,618 m above sea level.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />
==Habitat and ecology== This is a species frequently found in houses. They are nocturnal cursorial spiders and have a specialized way of catching prey. In South Africa, the species has been sampled from the Fynbos, Grassland, Nama Karoo, Savanna, and Thicket biomes.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />
==Description== {{see also|Glossary of spider terms}}
{{expand section|date=September 2025|small=no}}
<gallery mode=packed heights=140px> Scytodes August 2014-1.jpg|left|missing legs Scytodes fusca 419757401.jpg| Scytodes.fusca.female.with.eggsac.-.tanikawa.jpg|female with egg sac </gallery>
==Conservation== ''Scytodes fusca'' is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide range. There are no significant threats to the species. It is protected in Karoo National Park and Kruger National Park.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />
==Taxonomy== This is an introduced cosmopolitan species known from both sexes, which have been illustrated.<ref name="dippenaar2021" />
==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="wsc">{{cite web | url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/species/33668 | title=Scytodes fusca Walckenaer, 1837 | publisher=World Spider Catalog | accessdate=2025-09-27}}</ref> <ref name="dippenaar2021">{{cite book | last1=Dippenaar-Schoeman | first1=A.S. | last2=Haddad | first2=C.R. | last3=Booysen | first3=R. | last4=Foord | first4=S.H. | last5=Lotz | first5=L.N. | year=2021 | title=The Scytodidae of South Africa. Version 1 | publisher=South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide | pages=16 | doi=10.5281/zenodo.7157802}}{{Creative Commons text attribution notice|cc=by4}}</ref> <ref name="walckenaer1837">{{cite book | last=Walckenaer | first=C.A. | year=1837 | title=Histoire naturelle des insectes. Aptères. Tome premier | publisher=Roret | location=Paris | pages=272}}</ref> }}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2137539}}
Category:Scytodidae Category:Spiders of South Africa Category:Cosmopolitan spiders Category:Spiders described in 1837