Arachnids of North Carolina
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Hogna baltimoriana
a wolf spider
Underside of legs with black bands, H. lenta have no bands............
Marpissa bina
a jumping spider
Dorsum of abdomen may be covered with fine golden iridescent scales, and median longitudinal area between pairs of white spots may be distinctly paler than lateral portions of dorsum....Intertidal grasses.........
Phylloneta pictipes
a cobweb spider
Differs from T. frondeum by having excessively banded legs; in particular, their having bands in the middle of their leg segments as well as a dark band on the lateral edge of the carapace. Male bands...SC; sweep net.........
Peckhamia unidentified species
an antmimic jumping spider
Regarding the three species of Peckhamia P. picata – (uplands, brown to dark brown, not black) constricted abdomen, a conspicuous constriction right behind their rear eyes (the posterior laterals).............
Marpissa dentoides
a jumping spider
This species is very close to M. lineata in coloration and structure. The male, however, can easily be separated from other members of the lineata group in having the cymbium of the palp flattened............
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Marpissa sulcosa
a jumping spider
Similar to M. lineata. The dorsum of the male displays a distinctive pattern of paired spots, while in both sexes the venter lacks the median paired bands.............
Marpissa pikei
Pike Slender Jumper
............
Marpissa formosa
a jumping spider
...Merchants Millpond SP.........
Marpissa grata
a jumping spider
Carapace dark to light mahogany brown, slightly darker in ocular area and margined with a thin black band. A pair of pale brown spots behind posterior eyes and a second pair of spots behind the firs............
Menemerus bivitattus
gray wall jumper
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Eris flava
a jumping spider
Male carapace with marginal band of white scales extending across clypeus and usually back well past the palps. Longi-tudinal white bands extending back from ALE usually narrower than in militaris. Pa...Grass and fields around swamps, marshes and rivers..........
Mangora gibberosa
Lined orbweaver
Placed in the genus Mangora since 1895, with a brief description as Abbotiana by Strand in 1929—which was considered a "superfluous generic replacement" name.Abdomen white with some brownish gold markings and two thin dark parallel lines on lower portion and some black spots on upper portion. Cephalothorax yellowish-green with a single dark line down the ...fields, forest edges, roadsides and gardens....Visual observation, sweep netting.......
Peckhamia picata
an antmimic jumping spider
Peckhamia may be easily confused with Synageles, but in Peckhamia, the carapace is not as flat, being more convex in the cephalic area, and has a sharp declevity [sic] behind the row III eyes" (1). Most Peckhamia have three pairs of ventral spines on leg I tibia (most Synageles have two pairs). The eye region occupies half of the carapace in Peckhamia and more than half the carapace in Synageles. There are also differences in the genitalia - males of Peckhamia show a spiraled embolus, while Synageles males show an embolus in the form of a "simple straight rod, curved arc, or short spike". The epigynum in Peckhamia females has sclerotized anterior rims in the form of two arcs (lacking in Synageles)P. picata legs dark with light tip............
Cybaeus giganteusseparating C. silicis from C. giganteus is primarily a value judgement based primarily on size and somewhat on leg banding: carapace length in C. giganteus females ranges from 4.5 to 5.4 mm (a relativ............
Erigone dentosa
a dwarf sheetweb weaver
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Oxyopes aglossus
a lynx spider
...roadside grass and herbs.........
Mimetus notius
a pirate spider
Keys to M. notius due to broad figure on carapace, femora without a distinctly dark apical third, and abdomen more generally covered with dark areas than in M. puritanus ............
Acanthoctenus chickeringi
a wandering spider
............
Oxyopes salticus
striped lynx spider
...old field, meadow, bog.........
Agelenopsis utahana
a grass spider
Agelenopsis utahana has enjoyed a relatively stable taxonomic history since having been originally described as Agelena utahana by Chamberlin & Ivie, 1933. It has remained in Agelenopsis since 1941.This is a yellow to reddish brown species, not as dark as A. naevia (q.v.). Both the sternal "V" mark and the ventral abdominal band are faintly—if at all—indicated. ...deep woods, forest edge; forest floor vegetation or tree stumps; funnel/sheet web.........
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Pholcus crypticolens
a cellar spider
............
Scytodes atlacoya
a spitting spider
New species described by Rheims, Brescovit & Durán-Barrón, 2007Cephalothorax light tan, with darker tan or light brown "chain" pattern. Abdomen tan to light grey, often "leopard-spotted." Occasionally the spots coalesce into small stripes or bands. Female genital...Synanthropic; indoors and out. Found behind bark, in pile of firewood, and taken by "beating" ornamental shrubbery (--dbz)....Frequently seen at night on exterior door frames and window screens.......
Leiobunum formosumApproximately 30 species in this genus have been identified as occurring in North America north of Mexico (Cokendolpher and Lee, 1993; Ingianni et al., 2011), with 16 recorded in North Carolina. However, the validity of several of these species is suspect, with several that will probably be determined to be synonyms of other species, e.g., davisi, speciosum, and zimmermani in North Carolina Burns et al., 2012; Shultz, 2018). According to Shultz (2018), moreover, recent phylogenetic studies indicate both that more species are waiting to be described and that the name Leiobunum may eventually be restricted to European species, requiring new generic names for most, if not all, of our species.Large harvestmen, especially the females; approximately the same size as Hadrobunus maculosus. Males are uniform orange-yellow or red-brown above, with a dark optical tubercle; the central figure is w...In Tennessee, formosum is commonly encountered in stands of pine and mixed hardwoods (Townsend et al., 2006)......Arachnids are not protected under state law, although permits are needed to collect them in State Parks and other public and private nature preserves[GNR] [SU]We have only a single relatively old (1976) record for this species. While this species does not appear to be habitat limited, we need much more information on its distribution in the state, its habit...
Clubiona rhododendri
a leafcurling sac spider
...forest, This species has been taken from rhododendron bushes and from the leaves under these bushes along streams from 2,550 feet up to 5,000 feet elevation..........
Tibellus oblongus
a slender crab spider
...sweeping lake shore.........
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Theridion differens
a cobweb spider
Epigynum & palpus shown in "Structural photos," q.v....forest and forest edge.........
Castianeira unidentified species
antlike runners
............
Kaira alba
an orbweaver
Female. Carapace yellow-white with a median darker line of black spots and some straggly white setae. Sternum with tiny black spots. Legs yellowish white with tiny dark spots and narrow broken black b............
Acanthepeira venusta
an orbweaver
Similar coloration to A. stellata. Females (6-10 mm) Can be distinguished by smaller size, narrow abdomen & lighter less contrasting pattern. This is the only species that might have ventral white m...Fields, roadsides, grasses, grassy cypress, swamps, sawgrass and floating island vegetation.........
Theridion frondeum
a cobweb spider
Thick black stripe on carapace...forest understory, forest edge, old field; small web under live leaf.........
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Allocosa furtiva
a wolf spider
Carapace dark red brown to black, sometimes iridescent, with few setae. Sternum dark brown. Chelicerae black. Legs dark red brown to black, sparsely covered with setae; femora and tibiae each with...moist litter on beaches. A few are from the ground in mesic, hardwood areas or in sugarcane fields..........
Allocosa absoluta
a wolf spider
Carapace dark red brown to black, usually mottled with dull yellow or orange yellow, sometimes with pale median band and submarginal rows of pale spots (Fig. 38); pale median band sometimes enclos...Grass and litter in swamps or at the edge of lakes, from pine forests, and from beaches and dunes..........
Allocosa sublata
a wolf spider
Carapace dark red brown to black, sometimes iridescent, darker at margins, with few setae. Sternum orange brown. Chelicerae dark red or red brown. Legs dark orange or red brown, sparsely covered w...soil and litter samples in moist woods.........
Allocosa mulaiki
a wolf spider
Carapace dark red brown to nearly black, sometimes iridescent, darker at margins, with few setae. Sternum orange brown. Chelicerae dark red or red brown. Legs dark orange or red brown, sparsely co...Grassy fields, lake margins, bogs, swamps, and a pine forest.........
Allocosa funerea
a wolf spider
Carapace dark red to black, often paler posteriorly, minutely and evenly punctate, with few setae. Sternum dark brown. Chelicerae dark red brown to black, paler distally. Legs with femora black, w...In grassy fields, meadows, lawns, gardens, and pine forests. A few were found wandering indoors.........
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Yunohamella lyrica
a cobweb spider
described as Theridion Lyricum (Walckenaer 1841); has also been known as: T. lyra, T. Kentuckyense, Allotheridion lyricum, and Takayus lyricus.Abdomen has white median band with large black areas adjacent anteriorly; posteriorly, the black are appears as a series of spots....forest understory, forest edge.........
Eustala cepina
an orbweaver
Smaller but can resemble E. anastera, legs slightly banded, abdomen is triangular almost as wide as long; it may lack dorsal pattern, or have longitudinal line down the middle. The three species repo...low vegetation near stream, lake shores, fields, pine dunes, ponds, gardens, oak (seems to prefer wetter areas than anastera)...Sweep netting.......
Theridion flavonotatum
a cobweb spider
Consistently thick red bar on top of Prosoma...old field; small tangle web at top of plant.........
Appaleptoneta coma
a cave spider
The color and general conformation is like the species silvicultrix and gertschi but the males can be easily distinguished by the palp and its peculiar specialized hairs and spines. The tarsus of t...Sifting leaves by rivers near Gatlinburg.........
Appaleptoneta gertschi
a cave spider
The ground color is yellowish white overlaid by a granular brownish purple. The darkest parts are the sternum, edges of thorax, venter and sides of the abdomen. The dorsum of the abdomen shows a fai...forest; in leaf litter.........
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Coras cavernorum
a funnel weaver
Cephalothorax with the usual markings. A dark line from posterior lateral eyes to an elongated hexagonal light area which has its posterior point on the outside of a dark hexagonal area which ends l...Small caves.........
Coras juvenilis............
Hentzia mitrata
a jumping spider
...lake edge, sweeping shrubs.........
Leucauge venusta
orchard orbweaver
The type for this species, Linyphia (Leucauge) argyrobapta White,1841, was based on a specimen collected by Charles Darwin (the only spider he's known to have documented!) during the voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle, which specimen was subsequently lost after publication of its description.

A neotype was not established until 2010 when one based on specimens collected in the type locality was established. At that time, L. venusta was declared a senior synonym of L. argyrobapta, but in 2018, argyrobapta was removed from that synonymy, and is now recognized as a separate species. These two species are grossly differentiated by geographic range (venusta is more northern and found in temperate climes, while argyrobapta is typically more tropical and coastal).

Although there may be some generalized marking difference, more precise determination requires microscopic examination of the genitalia. "Surprisingly,", according to Ballesterosa and Hormiga, 2018,these are not sister species, as their "estimated age of divergence implies that the morphologies in this two species...have remained seemingly invariable for at least 10 million years.

At this writing (2023) we (NCBP) are considering to be venusta those specimens having a single, crescent shaped ventral spot anterior to the spinnerets. (https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/arachnid/...Shrubby meadows, forest edge, urban and suburban settings (Rose, 2022)..........
Octonoba sinensis...In and around human structures.........
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Schizocosa floridana
a wolf spider
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Latrodectus variolus
Northern black widow
Females are shiny black, brown-black, with possibly a row of red spots on the top of the abdomen along the midline. Two reddish triangles resembling an hourglass are present on the underside of the ab...Dry forest with sheltered or shady locations. .........
Geolycosa pikei
a burrowing wolf spider
Male: dorsal stripe as wide as posterior eye quadrangle behind the posterior lateral eyes, narrows to the cervical groove and is indistinct from there posteriorly; carapace covered with gray pubescenc...Coastal sand dunes, but also away from coast.......[GNR] S3S4...
Trichonephila clavipes
Golden Silk orbweaver
Female has elongated yellow-orange abdomen with white spots and prosoma covered in white hairs. Male orange with black mottling. Legs with orange and black bands....Moist forests.........
Microhexura montivaga
Spruce-fir Moss Spider
Brownish-yellow to a dark reddish brown. One set of spinnerets very long and curling upward....high-elevation spruce-fir forests; found under moss growing on rocks......Arachnids are not given any protection under state law.G1 S1Federally endangered; endemic to North Carolina and adjacent Tennessee...