Tegenaria cisticola

Interesting Facts

Description

Family Agelenidae

Funnel web weavers are small to medium sized spiders often found in grassy fields or living among leaf litter in forests . In many species, the second pair of spinnerets are twice the length of the first pair. They spin sheet webs of nonsticky silk with a characteristic funnel extending off to one side. The funnel is where the spider hides while awaiting prey . There is a 3-dimensional barrier web spun above the sheet web, and when a prey item falls through onto the sheet web, the spider quickly runs out and bites its victim, then drags it back to the funnel to feed . These sheet webs are nearly invisible unless covered with dewdrops on a cool morning, and the spider can move very quickly over the surface. It almost looks as if the spider is walking on air . [1]

Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota () - Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Animalia () - C. Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
  - Subkingdom: Bilateria () - (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
    - Branch: Protostomia () - Grobben, 1908
      - Infrakingdom: Ecdysozoa () - A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998
        Superphylum: Panarthropoda () - Cuvier
        Phylum: Arthropoda () - Latreille, 1829 - Arthropods
        Subphylum: Arachnomorpha () - Heider, 1913
        Infraphylum: Cheliceriformes ()
        Superclass: Chelicerata ()
        Epiclass: Euchelicerata ()
        Class: Arachnida () - Cuvier, 1812 - Arachnids
        Subclass: Micrura ()
        Order: Araneae () - C. Clerck, 1757 - Spiders
        Suborder: Opisthothelae () - Pocock, 1892
        Infraorder: Araneomorphae () - Smith, 1902
        Superfamily: Agelenoidea () - C.L. Koch, 1837
        Family: Agelenidae () - C.L. Koch, 1837 - Funnel-Web Spiders
        Genus: Tegenaria () - Latreille, 1804
        Specific name: cisticola
        Scientific name: - Tegenaria cisticola