Spiders of North Carolina

Arachnids of North Carolina

Order:
Scientific Name: Common Name:		Family (Alpha):

Leiobunum ventricosum - No Common Name Sclerosomatidae Members:			NC Records	BugGuide Account	Public View

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Distribution Records
PDF

Vetting Levels

Adult phenology:
High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
Piedmont (Pd)
Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge

synonym

taxonomic_comments

Approximately 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.

species_comment

Placed in the Early-season Leiobunum Species Group by Burns et al. (2012) based on its overwintering as a juvenile as well as genetic analysis. In North Carolina, this groups also includes L. flavum and verrucosum.

id_comments

This species is somewhat larger but otherwise similar to Leiobunum flavum. The coloration of the body, palps, and legs is light golden brown; a dark central figure is more prominent in this species than in flavum and is often partially outlined in white, especially towards the anterior (Shultz, 2018).

total_length

7–8 mm, males; 10–12 mm, females (Shultz, 2018)

structural_features

Both males and females have strongly pointed abdomens, unlike flavum where it is either truncated or bluntly rounded (Davis, 1934; Shultz, 2018). The metapeltidium is bounded by comparatively wide membranes in flavum but is more sclerotized in ventricosm (Shultz, Harvestmen of Maryland website).

silk_web

fld_guide_descriptions

online_photos

BugGuide, The Harvestmen of Maryland

prey

predators

behavior

distribution_reference

Banks (1911), Brimley (1938)

technical_reference

Davis (1934), Shultz (2018)

adult_id

1 identifiable by photo 2 identifiable by photo of specific features and/or supplementary info 3 identifiable from specimen only

abundance

We currently have too few records from North Carolina to judge its frequency of occurrence or abundance

distribution_comments

North Carolina records come from along the Blue Ridge Escarpment, from the Swannanoa Valley to Blowing Rock

checklist_mt_high
>=4,000 ft.

Regular	Frequent	Infrequent	Occasional	Seldom	Frequency Regular – almost always observed on given visit; >=90% chance of observation Frequent – usually observed on a given visit; >=50%<90% chance of observation Infrequent – observed less than 50% of visits; >=25%<50% chance of observation Occasional – observed on only on a small minority of visits; >=10%<25% chance of observation Seldom – not usually seen on visits; <10% chance of observation These terms refer to visits to appropriate habitats made at appropriate times of the year, making use of common sampling/observation methods. Under those conditions, Frequency refers to the chance of observing at least one individual on a given visit made anywhere within a particular region, or over multiple visits to a single site.

checklist_mt_low
<4,000 ft.

Regular	Frequent	Infrequent	Occasional	Seldom

checklist_pd
Piedmont

Regular	Frequent	Infrequent	Occasional	Seldom

checklist_cp
Coastal Plain

Regular	Frequent	Infrequent	Occasional	Seldom

habitat

In Maryland, L. ventricosum is most common in moist woodlands (Shultz, 2018).

observation_methods

Overwinters as juveniles and matures in the spring; probably day-active and best found by direct searches in likely habitats

state_protection

Arachnids are not protected under state law, although permits are needed to collect them in State Parks and other public and private nature preserves

NHP_ranks

[GNR] [S3S4]

NHP_status

status_comments

Although we have only three records for this species in our database, there are a number of well-vetted photographs on BugGuide from sites in North Carolina. This species does not seem likely to be limited by habitat and may turn out to be found over a fairly wide range in the Mountains.

Photo Gallery for Leiobunum ventricosum No common name
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Yancey Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Yancey Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Steve Hall and Carol Tingley Durham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Buncombe Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Vin Stanton Henderson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Owen McConnell Graham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Owen McConnell Graham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Steve Hall Stokes Co. Comment: Found at bait	Recorded by: Steve Hall Stokes Co. Comment: Found at bait
	Recorded by: Owen McConnell Graham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Yancey Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel Yancey Co. Comment:

Photo Gallery for Leiobunum ventricosum No common name