Pholcidae Ninetis

Ninetis sp. "Short-legged House"

Short-legged House Spider

Spiders of the genus Ninetis are instantly recognisable by a combination of characters: small size (<2 mm), globular abdomen, eight eyes, and most significantly, unusually short legs. While other pholcids in Singapore have long legs with femora several times longer than the body, Ninetis femora are only as long as the body, or even slightly shorter. The AME of Ninetis are located medially between the two eye triads, a departure from the norm among other eight-eyed pholcids in Singapore, whose AME are invariably positioned below the eye triads.

The species found in Singapore is a household spider. It is recognised by the shape of the male cheliceral tusks and the spotted pattern of the male abdomen. The male and female genitalia do not fit into any of the described Ninetis species around the world, and is likely to be new to science.

Ninetis are found mainly in Africa and to a limited extent, in West Asia. However, some species have been dispersed further afield through the international movement of people and trade. This is one of such "introduced" species; it must have lived in a desert or arid habitat, and survives in Singapore only in drier niches inside apartments and houses.