Wandering spider

{{Short description|Family of spiders}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Neogene|present}} | name = Wandering spiders | image = Wandering spider.jpg | image_caption = ''Phoneutria nigriventer'' | image2 = Ctenus caligineus 302557374 545280326.jpg | image2_caption = Male ''Ctenus caligineus'' | taxon = Ctenidae | authority = Keyserling, 1877 | range_map = Ctenidae range map.svg | range_map_caption = blue: reported countries (WSC) green: observation hotspots (iNaturalist) | diversity = 49 genera, 533 species }}

'''Wandering spiders''' ('''''Ctenidae''''') are a family of spiders that includes the Brazilian wandering spiders. These spiders have a distinctive longitudinal groove on the top-rear of their oval carapace similar to those of the Amaurobiidae.<ref name="mcgavin"/>

They are highly defensive<ref name=BuchBuck13 /> and venomous nocturnal hunters. Wandering spiders are known to hunt large prey, for example hylid species ''Dendropsophus branneri.''<ref name="araujo" /> Despite their notoriety for being dangerous, only a few members of ''Phoneutria'' have venom known to be hazardous to humans, but the venoms of this family are poorly known,<ref name="okamoto" /> so all larger ctenids should be treated with caution.

==Genera==

{{as of|2025|09}}, the World Spider Catalog accepted the following genera:<ref name="NMBE" /> {{div col|colwidth=30em|small=no}} *''Acantheis'' Thorell, 1891 – Asia *''Acanthoctenus'' Keyserling, 1877 – South America, Central America, Jamaica, Mexico *''Africactenus'' Hyatt, 1954 – Africa, India *''Afroneutria'' Polotow & Jocqué, 2015 – Africa *''Amauropelma'' Raven, Stumkat & Gray, 2001 – Asia, Australia *''Amicactenus'' Henrard & Jocqué, 2017 – Africa *''Anahita'' Karsch, 1879 – Africa, Asia, United States *''Apolania'' Simon, 1898 – Seychelles *''Arctenus'' Polotow & Jocqué, 2014 – Kenya *''Asthenoctenus'' Simon, 1897 – South America *''Bengalla'' Gray & Thompson, 2001 – Australia *''Bowie'' Jäger, 2022 *''Bulboctenus'' Pereira, Labarque & Polotow, 2020 – Brazil *''Califorctenus'' Jiménez, Berrian, Polotow & Palacios-Cardiel, 2017 *''Caloctenus'' Keyserling, 1877 – Ethiopia, South America *''Celaetycheus'' Simon, 1897 – Brazil *''Centroctenus'' Mello-Leitão, 1929, including ''Parabatinga'' Polotow & Brescovit, 2009 – South America *''Chococtenus'' Dupérré, 2015 – Ecuador, Colombia *''Ciba'' Bloom, Binford, Esposito, Alayón, Peterson, Nishida, Loubet-Senear & Agnarsson, 2014 – Cuba, Dominican Republic *''Ctenus'' Walckenaer, 1805 – Africa, South America, Oceania, Central America, Asia, North America, Caribbean *''Diallomus'' Simon, 1897 – Sri Lanka *''Eldivo'' Hazzi & Hormiga, 2024 *''Enoploctenus'' Simon, 1897 – South America, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *''Gephyroctenus'' Mello-Leitão, 1936 – Brazil, Peru *''Guasuctenus'' Polotow & Brescovit, 2019 *''Isoctenus'' Bertkau, 1880 – Brazil, Argentina *''Janusia'' Gray, 1973 – Australia *''Kiekie'' Polotow & Brescovit, 2018 – Colombia, Central America, Mexico *''Leptoctenus'' L. Koch, 1878 – Australia, North America, Panama *''Macroctenus'' Henrard & Jocqué, 2017 – Guinea *''Montescueia'' Carcavallo & Martínez, 1961 – Argentina *''Nimbanahita'' Henrard & Jocqué, 2017 – Guinea *''Nothroctenus'' Badcock, 1932 – Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay *''Ohvida'' Polotow & Brescovit, 2009 – Cuba *''Perictenus'' Henrard & Jocqué, 2017 – Guinea *''Petaloctenus'' Jocqué & Steyn, 1997 – Africa *''Phoneutria'' Perty, 1833 – South America *''Phymatoctenus'' Simon, 1897 – Brazil, Guyana, Costa Rica *''Piloctenus'' Henrard & Jocqué, 2017 – Guinea, Togo, Ivory Coast *''Sinoctenus'' Marusik, Zhang & Omelko, 2012 *''Spinoctenus'' Hazzi, Polotow, Brescovit, González-Obando & Simó, 2018 *''Thoriosa'' Simon, 1910 – São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea *''Toca'' Polotow & Brescovit, 2009 – Brazil *''Trogloctenus'' Lessert, 1935 – Congo *''Trujillina'' Bryant, 1948 – Caribbean *''Tuticanus'' Simon, 1897 – Ecuador, Peru *''Viracucha'' Lehtinen, 1967 – South America *''Wiedenmeyeria'' Schenkel, 1953 – Venezuela {{div col end}}

Formerly placed in this family: *''Mahafalytenus'' Silva-Dávila, 2007; now in Viridasiidae

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="NMBE">{{cite web|title=Family: Ctenidae Keyserling, 1877|url=http://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/family/19|access-date=2025-09-22|website=World Spider Catalog|publisher=Natural History Museum Bern}}</ref> <ref name="araujo">{{Cite journal |last=de Araujo Lira |first=André Felipe |date=May 26, 2000 |title=Predation of Dendropsophus branneri (Cochran, 1948) (Anura: Hylidae) by wandering spider (Araneae: Ctenidae) in an Atlantic forest remnant |url=https://www.biotaxa.org/hn/article/view/60876 |journal=Herpetology Notes |volume=13 |pages=421–424 |via=Biotaxa}}</ref> <ref name=BuchBuck13>{{cite book |first1=Wolfgang |last1=Bücherl |first2=Eleanor E. |last2=Buckley |title=Venomous Animals and Their Venoms: Venomous Invertebrates |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_KzSBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA237 |date=2013 |publisher=Elsevier| isbn=978-1-4832-6289-5 |page=237}}</ref> <ref name="mcgavin">{{cite book |last=McGavin |first=George C. |title=Insects and Other Terrestrial Arthropods |publisher=Dorling Kindersley Ltd. |year=2002 |isbn=0-7894-9392-6 |location=New York |pages=230}}</ref> <ref name="okamoto">{{cite journal |author=Okamoto |display-authors=et al. |year=2009 |title=Ctenus medius and Phoneutria nigriventer spiders venoms share noxious proinflammatory activities |journal=J. Med. Entomol. |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=58–66 |doi=10.1603/033.046.0108 |pmid=19198518 |s2cid=33154932 |doi-access=free}}</ref> }}

==External links== * {{inaturalist taxon}}

* Category:Taxa named by Eugen von Keyserling

Wandering spider

Connections

Linked from (28 total)

Links to (62 total)