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Common Spitting Spider
Scytodes thoracica
Scytodes thoracica is a spitting spider, so called because it spits a venomous sticky silken substance over its prey. Its size ranges between 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in). The carapace is unusual in sloping upwards towards its rear end, whereas the abdomen slopes downwards.
As a member of family Scytodidae, it has six eyes instead of the eight spiders commonly have.
From the article Scytodes thoracica on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Range & habitat
It is a cosmopolitan species, being found in Europe, North Africa, Turkey, temperate Asia to China, Korea and Japan. It has been introduced to North America, Chile, Argentina, India, Australia and New Zealand. In South Africa, it is recorded from three provinces, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and Limpopo. In the UK, its range rarely stretches beyond southern England, with few recorded sightings beyond there.
Wikipedia: “Distribution”
What it does
This is a cosmopolitan species frequently found in houses, where it wanders about at night. In South Africa, it inhabits the Grassland and Savanna biomes at altitudes ranging from 68 to 1444 m above sea level. It is a wandering spider commonly collected from under stones and dark places on the soil surface.
Wikipedia: “Habitat and ecology”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Scytodes thoracica in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 57450.