Theridiidae Phoroncidia

Phoroncidia sp. "Lumpy Tube-headed"

Lumpy Tube-headed Spider

This brown species has two rounded dorsal abdominal lumps situated in front of a high, round-topped, dorsal extension. The paired anterior abdominal lumps are particularly prominent and are pale in the male. They are much less prominent in the female. Whilst the spider hangs on a silk line, the abdominal extension points downwards. Both sexes have at least a hundred tiny round plates on their abdominal surface, visible when viewed with a hand-lens. Each plate appears well separated from another, especially so in plumper specimens. The eyes are borne on a dark, forward-projecting tubercle. The spinnerets are dark and mounted within a dark brown ring.