Hasarius adansoni

Distribution

H. adansoni is found in warmer climates around the world, for example Japan, Taiwan and Australia. It has also been introduced worldwide in greenhouses and similar places, for example in several German zoos. In China it is distributed in the provinces of Gansu, Guangxi, Guangzhou and Yunnan.

Description

Females grow up to 8 millimeters in length, males up to 6 millimeters.

The males are mostly black, with a red "mask" and pedipalps that are partly white. A white crescent is present on the back part of the abdomen, and another one on the front part of the opisthosoma. There are two small white dots on the posterior back, and two even smaller ones towards the end. These white areas - especially on the pedipalps - have a nacre-like iridescence.

Females are dark brown, with a lighter and somewhat rufous opisthosoma.

Behavior

These spiders build a silken retreat at night, which is about twice the length of the animal. Although the same retreat is sometimes reused, others are built in the vicinity.

Males have been seen to feed on immature females, although this may be by accident.

Nomenclature

The species, initially identified as Attus adansonii by Audouin in 1826, has been officially redescribed 86 times in recognized scientific literature up to the year 2012, frequently being classified under various genera. Its first assignment to the genus Hasarius was conducted by the French arachnologist Eugène Simon in 1871.

The species is named after the French naturalist Michel Adanson.