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Cithaeronidae Cithaeron

Cithaeron praedonius O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872

Swift Ground Spider

Although this species is widespread geographically, it is rarely seen in Singapore. It is recognised by its association with human habitation, its fast movement, and long legs with curved and flexible tarsi.

Length♀ 5–7 mm; ♂ 3–4 mm
DistributionCosmopolitan, including Singapore, Lebanon.
HabitatInside or near buildings.
BiologyIn captivity, the species has been observed preying on other "domestic" spiders associated with built-up environments.

Taxonomy

Type Deposits*

  1. Holotype

    Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France; ♀ of Tephlea agelenoides (lost) (Platnick, 1991c)

  2. Holotype

    Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France; ♀ of Cithaeron pallidus (Platnick, 1991c)

  3. Lectotype

    Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France; ♀ of Tephlea limbata (Platnick, 1991c)

  4. Syntype

    Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH) = Hope Entomological Collections Oxford (HECO), Oxford, UK; 2♀ (Platnick, 1991c)

  5. Syntype

    Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France; 1♀ of Tephlea semilimbata (Platnick, 1991c)

Taxonomic references*

  1. Cithaeron praedonius (Original description ♀)

    O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872 General list of the spiders of Palestine and Syria, with descriptions of numerous new species, and characters of two new genera: 273 doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1872.tb00489.x

  2. Tephlea agelenoides (Original description ♀)

    Simon, 1878a Les arachnides de France. Tome quatrième, contenant la famille des Drassidae: 207

  3. Tephlea limbata (Original description ♂♀)

    Simon, 1885h Matériaux pour servir à la faune arachnologiques de l'Asie méridionale: 36

  4. Tephlea semilimbata (Original description ♀)

    Simon, 1890a Etudes arachnologiques: 91

  5. Cithaeron praedonius (Original description ♂, Synonym of Tephlea agelenoides)

    Simon, 1893a Histoire naturelle des araignées. Deuxième édition, tome premier: 386, f. 341-344 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51973

  6. Cythaeron pallidus (Original description ♀, lapsus)

    Denis, 1953b Spiders of the Yemen, southwest Arabia, collected by the U: 340, f. 5 doi:10.2307/3223479

  7. Cithaeron praedonius (♂♀, Synonym of Cithaeron limbatus, C. pallidus and C. semilimbatus)

    Platnick, 1991c A revision of the ground spider family Cithaeronidae (Araneae, Gnaphosoidea): 6, f. 9-13

  8. Cithaeron praedonius (♂♀)

    Platnick, 2002 A revision of the Australasian ground spiders of the families Ammoxenidae, Cithaeronidae, Gallieniellidae, and Trochanteriidae (Araneae: Gnaphosoidea): 21, f. 36-40 doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2002)271<0001:AROTAG>2.0.CO;2

  9. Cithaeron praedonius (♀)

    Carvalho, Bonaldo & Brescovit, 2007 The first record of the family Cithaeronidae (Araneae, Gnaphosoidea) to the new world: 512, f. 1-4

  10. Cithaeron praedonius (♂♀)

    Akpinar & Varol, 2012 First record of family Cithaeronidae (Arachnida: Araneae) from Turkey: 105, f. 1-5

  11. Cithaeron praedonius (♂♀)

    Ruiz & Bonaldo, 2013 Vagabond but elusive: two newcomers to the eastern Amazon (Araneae: Cithaeronidae; Prodidomidae): 92, f. 1-8 doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3694.1.8

  12. Cithaeron praedonius (♀)

    Sánchez-Ruiz & Brescovit, 2013b First record of the family Cithaeronidae Simon (Arachnida, Araneae) from Cuba, in the Caribbean region: 89, f. 1-4

  13. Cithaeron praedonius (♂♀)

    Azevedo, Griswold & Santos, 2018b Systematics and evolution of ground spiders revisited (Araneae, Dionycha, Gnaphosidae): 599, f. 8a, 9b, 15b, 19c, 20b, S8d, S11a doi:10.1111/cla.12226

  14. Cithaeron praedonius (♀)

    Özkütük et al., 2019d Cithaeron praedonius O: 55, f. 1, 2A-D

  15. Cithaeron praedonius (♀)

    Rivera-Quiroz et al., 2020 Imperfect and askew: a review of asymmetric genitalia in araneomorph spiders (Araneae: Araneomorphae): 5, f. 3h doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0220354

  16. Cithaeron praedonius (♀)

    Cubas Rodríguez et al., 2022 Elusive introduced and synanthropic spiders (Araneae: Cithaeronidae, Gnaphosidae): new records from Mexico, Honduras, and Brazil: 263, f. 7-10 doi:10.3956/2021-97.4.261

  17. Cithaeron praedonius (♀)

    Miranda, Pérez-Pérez & Bermúdez, 2024 Primer registro Cithaeron praedonius O: 140, f. 1-6

  18. Cithaeron praedonius (♀)

    Murcia-Moreno & Gálvez, 2025 Introduced spiders in Panama: species distributions and new records: 6, f. 2F-G doi:10.3390/biology14010004

* Retrieved from the World Spider Catalog.

Distribution Map for Cithaeron praedonius O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872

Cosmopolitan, including Singapore, Lebanon.

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