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Theridiidae Nesticodes

Nesticodes rufipes (Lucas, 1846)

Red-footed House Spider

The species name "rufipes" is derived from the Latin word for "red-footed", but such an adjective may be apt only in alluding to the orangish brown legs of the male. The male carapace is also orangish brown. The short and oval abdomen is brownish, with faint dark patches on the dorsal and lateral sides.

Sub-adult females look like males in colouration and body shape. However, when they mature, the abdomen may become almost spherical, and its colour may range from beige to dark brown (almost black). Leg colouration may also vary, ranging from orangish brown to dark brown.

This species is associated with human habitation in some tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world, presumably spread through shipments of timber or other commodities.

Length♀ 4–5 mm; ♂ 3–4 mm
DistributionSingapore, Malaysia (Sabah), Brunei, China, Japan, Algeria.
HabitatIn an untidy and irregular web indoors, or on walls of car porches, balconies, and verandas. For unknown reasons, wandering males are often in bathrooms.

Taxonomy

Type Deposits*

  1. Syntype

    Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (ZMB), Germany (database export of type material, March 2019); Theridium bajulans L. Koch, 1875, (29530)

Taxonomic references*

  1. Theridion rufipes (Original description ♀)

    Lucas, 1846 Histoire naturelle des animaux articulés: 263, pl. 16, f. 5 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.112444

  2. Theridion luteolum (Original description j)

    Blackwall, 1859b Descriptions of newly discovered spiders captured by James Yate Johnson Esq: 259 doi:10.1080/00222935908697122

  3. Theridion borbonicum (Original description ♀)

    Vinson, 1863 Aranéides des îles de La Réunion, Maurice et Madagascar: 318, pl. 14, f. 6 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.125517

  4. Theridion luteipes (Original description ♂♀)

    O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869b Catalogue of a collection of Ceylon Araneida lately received from Mr J: 382, pl. 12, f. 46-51 doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1869.tb00667.x

  5. Theridion albonotatum (Original description ♂♀)

    Taczanowski, 1874 Les aranéides de la Guyane française: 56

  6. Theridion bajulans (Original description ♂♀)

    L. Koch, 1875b Aegyptische und abyssinische Arachniden gesammelt von Herrn C. Jickeli: 21, pl. 2, f. 4-5

  7. Theridion flavo-aurantiacum (Original description ♀)

    Simon, 1880i Matériaux pour servir à une faun arachnologique de la Nouvelle Calédonie: 171

  8. Theridion longipes (Original description ♂)

    van Hasselt, 1882 Araneae: 33 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.119451

  9. Theridion albonotatum (♂♀)

    Keyserling, 1884a Die Spinnen Amerikas. Theridiidae. I. Hälfte: 15, pl. 1, f. 4 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.64832

  10. Theridion rufipes

    Simon, 1898b Etudes arachnologiques: 271

  11. Theridion rufipes (Original description ♂)

    Kulczyński, 1899 Arachnoidea opera Rev: 374, pl. 6, f. 33

  12. Theridion rufipes (♂♀)

    F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902a Arachnida - Araneida and Opiliones: 384, pl. 36, f. 15-16

  13. Anelosimus nelsoni (Original description ♂♀)

    Bryant, 1945c Notes on some Florida spiders: 200, f. 8

  14. Nesticodes rufipes (T♂♀ from Theridion)

    Archer, 1950 A study of theridiid and mimetid spiders with descriptions of new genera and species: 22, pl. II, f. 7-8

  15. Robertus pilosus (Original description ♂♀)

    Denis, 1956a Notes d'aranéologie marocaine: 203, f. 15-16

  16. Theridion rufipes (Synonym of Anelosimus nelsoni)

    Levi, 1956b The spider genera Neottiura and Anelosimus in America (Araneae: Theridiidae): 413 doi:10.2307/3223613

  17. Theridion rufipes (♂♀, Synonym of Robertus pilosus)

    Levi, 1957a The spider genera Enoplognatha, Theridion, and Paidisca in America north of Mexico (Araneae, Theridiidae): 56, f. 188-193

  18. Theridion rufipes (♂)

    Levi & Levi, 1962 The genera of the spider family Theridiidae: 45, f. 95

  19. Theridion rufipes (♂♀)

    Chrysanthus, 1963 Spiders from south New Guinea V: 748, f. 106-109

  20. Theridion rufipes (♂♀)

    Levi, 1967c Cosmopolitan and pantropical species of theridiid spiders (Araneae: Theridiidae): 179, f. 24-27

  21. Theridion rufipes (♂♀)

    Roberts, 1978 Contributions à l'étude de la faune terrestre des îles granitiques de l'archipel des Séchelles (Mission P: 913, f. 20-26

  22. Theridion rufipes (♂♀)

    Levy & Amitai, 1982a The comb-footed spider genera Theridion, Achaearanea and Anelosimus of Israel (Araneae: Theridiidae): 86, f. 1-5 doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1982.tb03496.x

  23. Nesticodes rufipes (♂♀)

    Wunderlich, 1987a Die Spinnen der Kanarischen Inseln und Madeiras: Adaptive Radiation, Biogeographie, Revisionen und Neubeschreibungen: 215, f. 570

  24. Theridion rufipes (♀)

    González & Estévez, 1988 Estudio del desarrollo postembrionario y estadísticos vitales de Theridion rufipes Lucas, 1846 (Araneae, Theridiidae): 500, f. 1-3

  25. Theridion rufipes (♂♀)

    Tanikawa, 1991b Two newly recorded spiders, Theridion rufipes Lucas, 1846, and Coleosoma floridanum Banks, 1900 (Araneae: Theridiidae) from Japan: 2, f. 1-5

  26. Nesticodes rufipes (♂♀)

    Zhu, 1998 Fauna Sinica: Arachnida: Araneae: Theridiidae: 117, f. 71A-E

  27. Theridion rufipes (♂♀)

    Levy, 1998b Araneae: Theridiidae: 171, f. 322-326

  28. Nesticodes rufipes (♂♀)

    Song, Zhu & Chen, 1999 The spiders of China: 127, f. 65N-Q

  29. Nesticodes rufipes (♂♀)

    Yoshida, 2001c A revision of the Japanese genera and species of the subfamily Theridiinae (Araneae: Theridiidae): 167, f. 36-39 doi:10.2476/asjaa.50.157

  30. Nesticodes rufipes (♂♀)

    Yoshida, 2003a The spider family Theridiidae (Arachnida: Araneae) from Japan: 82, f. 196-199

  31. Nesticodes rufipes (♂♀)

    Agnarsson, 2004 Morphological phylogeny of cobweb spiders and their relatives (Araneae, Araneoidea, Theridiidae): 573, f. 58A-F, 59A-F doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2004.00120.x

  32. Nesticodes rufipes (♂♀)

    Saaristo, 2006 Theridiid or cobweb spiders of the granitic Seychelles islands (Araneae, Theridiidae): 67, f. 51-54

  33. Nesticodes rufipes (♂♀)

    Wunderlich, 2008b On extant and fossil (Eocene) European comb-footed spiders (Araneae: Theridiidae), with notes on their subfamilies, and with descriptions of new taxa: 391, f. 534-438

  34. Nesticodes rufipes (♂♀)

    Yoshida, 2009b Uloboridae, Theridiidae, Ctenidae: 374, f. 163-164

  35. Nesticodes rufipes (♂♀)

    Saaristo, 2010 Araneae: 259, f. 37.90-94

  36. Nesticodes rufipes (♀)

    Gabriel, 2010a Nesticodes rufipes - Erstnachweis einer pantropischen Kugelspinne in Deutschland (Araneae: Theridiidae): 40, f. 1A-C, 2-4 doi:10.5431/aramit3905

  37. Nesticodes rufipes (♂♀)

    Talukdar & Sanyal, 2013 First record of the genus Nesticodes Simon, 1894 [sic!] from India with taxonomic studies on a red cob-web-spider Nesticodes rufipes (Lucas, 1846) (Araneae: Theridiidae) from West Bengal, India: 42, unnumbered f.

  38. Nesticodes rufipes (♀)

    Sekhar & Sunil Jose, 2017 New distributional records of Nesticodes rufipes (Lucas, 1846) in India: 478, f. 1A-F

  39. Nesticodes rufipes (♂)

    Vanuytven, 2021 The Theridiidae of the World: 46, 204, f. A.36f, B.203-204

  40. Nesticodes rufipes (♂♀)

    Baert et al., 2023 Updated checklist, origin, distribution, literature and genital drawings of the spiders of the Galápagos Islands: 32, f. 119A-D

  41. Nesticodes rufipes (♂)

    Sherwood, 2025b Annotated checklist of imported non-native spider (Araneae) taxa recorded in the United Kingdom 1800–2024: 132, f. 9A-E doi:10.15298/arthsel.34.1.10

* Retrieved from the World Spider Catalog.

Distribution Map for Nesticodes rufipes (Lucas, 1846)

Singapore, Malaysia (Sabah), Brunei, China, Japan, Algeria.

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