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Uloboridae Zosis

Zosis geniculata (Olivier, 1789)

Grey Humped Domestic Spider

Spiders of this species are easily recognised by their association with human habitation, the characteristically black-banded legs, and the presence of pinkish egg sacs with horn-like projections on their webs.

Length♀ 5–7 mm; ♂ 4–6 mm
Type LocalityGuadeloupe
DistributionWidespread, including Singapore, Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah), Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines, India, China, Japan, Australia, Guadeloupe.
HabitatInside abandoned or neglected man-made structures such as garages, basements, under bridges, rural huts and animal sheds.
BiologyThey build horizontal or inclined orb webs, often close to one another, and covered with debris. The hub is lace-like and is often covered with a "stabilimentum" of unknown functions. The spider sits on the hub with legs I widely spread.

Taxonomy

Type Deposits*

  1. Holotype

    National Zoological Collections, Zoological Survey of India (NZC-ZSI), Kolkata, India; ♀ (not found by Asha & Sudhikumar, 2023: 360) of Uloborus danolius (Tikader, 1969d)

  2. Paratype

    National Zoological Collections, Zoological Survey of India (NZC-ZSI), Kolkata, India; 10♀ (not found by Asha & Sudhikumar, 2023: 360) of Uloborus danolius (Tikader, 1969d)

Taxonomic references*

  1. Aranea geniculata (Original description )

    Olivier, 1789 Araignée, Aranea: 214 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.82248

  2. Zosis caraibe (Original description ♂)

    Walckenaer, 1841 Histoire naturelle des Insects. Aptères. Tome deuxième: 231, pl. 20, f. 2 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.61095

  3. Uloborus latreilleii (Original description ♀)

    Thorell, 1858b Till kännedomen om slägten a Mithras och Uloborus: 197

  4. Orithya williamsii (Original description ♀)

    Blackwall, 1858b Characters of a new genus and description of three recently discovered species of Araneida: 331 doi:10.1080/00222935808697040

  5. Uloborus domesticus (Original description ♀)

    Doleschall, 1859 Tweede Bijdrage tot de kennis der Arachniden van den Indischen Archipel: 46, pl. 7, f. 2

  6. Orithya williamsii (Original description ♂)

    Blackwall, 1861b Descriptions of several recently discovered spiders: 443 doi:10.1080/00222936108697446

  7. Uloborus borbonicus (Original description ♀)

    Vinson, 1863 Aranéides des îles de La Réunion, Maurice et Madagascar: 316, pl. 1, f. 3 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.125517

  8. Orithya luteolus (Original description ♀)

    Blackwall, 1865a Descriptions of recently discovered spiders collected in the Cape de Verde Islands by John Gray, Esq: 89 doi:10.1080/00222936508679383

  9. Zosis caraiba (lapsus, D♀)

    Taczanowski, 1872 Les aranéides de la Guyane française: 110

  10. Uloborus zosis (Original description ♀, Synonym of Zosis caraibe)

    L. Koch, 1872a Die Arachniden Australiens, nach der Natur beschrieben und abgebildet [Erster Theil, Lieferung 3-7]: 221, pl. 19, f. 3 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.121660

  11. Uloborus spinitarsis (Original description ♂)

    Keyserling, 1887a Die Arachniden Australiens, nach der Natur beschrieben und abgebildet. Zweiter Theil [Lieferung 35-36]: 231, pl. 20, f. 9 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.121660

  12. Uloborus zosis (♂♀)

    Marx, 1889a A contribution to the knowledge of the spider fauna of the Bermuda Islands: 99, pl. 4, f. 1

  13. Uloborus geniculatus (Synonym of Orithya williamsi)

    Simon, 1892a Histoire naturelle des araignées. Deuxième édition, tome premier: 211, 214 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51973

  14. Uloborus geniculatus (♂♀, Synonym of Uloborus borbonicus, U. domesticus, U. latreillei and U. zosis)

    McCook, 1894 American spiders and their spinningwork: 273, pl. 27, f. 1-2 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.2681

  15. Uloborus geniculatus (♂♀)

    F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902a Arachnida - Araneida and Opiliones: 362, pl. 34, f. 9-10

  16. Uloborus geniculatus (♂♀)

    Berland, 1924a Araignées de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et des Iles Loyalty: 176, f. 16-17 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.6790

  17. Uloborus geniculatus similis (Original description )

    Franganillo, 1926a Arácnidos nuevos o poco conocidos de la Isla de Cuba: 46

  18. Uloborus geniculatus (♂♀)

    Petrunkevitch, 1930a The spiders of Porto Rico: 228, f. 75-76

  19. Uloborus geniculatus (♂♀)

    Berland & Millot, 1940 Les araignées de l'Afrique occidental français: 152, f. 5

  20. Uloborus geniculatus (♂♀)

    Muma & Gertsch, 1964 The spider family Uloboridae in North America north of Mexico: 37, f. 82-86

  21. Zosis geniculatus (♂, Transferred from Uloborus)

    Lehtinen, 1967 Classification of the cribellate spiders and some allied families, with notes on the evolution of the suborder Araneomorpha: 277, f. 493

  22. Uloborus geniculatus (♂♀)

    Chrysanthus, 1967b Spiders from south New Guinea IX: 98, f. 32-39

  23. Uloborus geniculatus (♀)

    Yaginuma, 1967b Revision and new addition to fauna of Japanese spiders, with descriptions of seven new species: 92, f. 2h-j

  24. Uloborus danolius (Original description ♀)

    Tikader, 1969d Two new spiders of the genus Uloborus of the family Uloboridae from India: 128, f. 6-9

  25. Zosis geniculatus (♂♀)

    Saaristo, 1978 Spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) from the Seychelle islands, with notes on taxonomy: 107, f. 78-87

  26. Zosis geniculatus (Synonym of Uloborus luteolus)

    Benoit, 1978g Contributions à l'étude de la faune terrestre des îles granitiques de l'archipel des Séchelles (Mission P: 676

  27. Zosis geniculatus (♂♀)

    Opell, 1979 Revision of the genera and tropical American species of the spider family Uloboridae: 510, f. 2, 162-174, pl. 1A-D, 2D, 7C

  28. Zosis geniculatus (♂)

    Opell, 1981 New Central and South American Uloboridae (Arachnida, Araneae): 221, f. 4

  29. Uloborus danolius (♀)

    Tikader & Biswas, 1981 Spider fauna of Calcutta and vicinity: Part-I: 15, f. 8-11

  30. Zosis geniculatus (♂♀)

    Roth, 1982 Handbook for spider identification: 50-2, f. 5, 9

  31. Zosis geniculatus (♂♀)

    Roth, 1985 Spider genera of North America: B46-3, f. 5, 9

  32. Zosis geniculatus (Synonym of Uloborus spinitarsis)

    Davies, 1985 Araneomorphae (in part): 118

  33. Uloborus geniculatus

    Wunderlich, 1986 Spinnenfauna gestern und heute: Fossile Spinnen in Bernstein und ihre heute lebenden Verwandten: 215, f

  34. Uloborus geniculatus (♂♀)

    Yaginuma, 1986a Spiders of Japan in color (new ed: 14, f. 9.5

  35. Zosis geniculatus (♂♀)

    Davies, 1988b An illustrated guide to the genera of orb-weaving spiders in Australia: 276, f. 3

  36. Uloborus geniculatus (♂♀)

    Chikuni, 1989b Pictorial encyclopedia of spiders in Japan: 23, f. 4

  37. Zosis geniculatus (♂)

    Coddington, 1990 Ontogeny and homology in the male palpus of orb-weaving spiders and their relatives, with comments on phylogeny (Araneoclada: Araneoidea, Deinopoidea): 12, f. 41

  38. Uloborus danolius (Original description ♂)

    Gajbe, 1991 Description of male spider Uloborus danolius Tikader (Araneae: Uloboridae): 307, f. 1-3

  39. Zosis geniculatus (♂)

    Yoshida, 1991d A note on the Japanese genera Uloborus, Zosis, Octonoba and Philoponella (Araneae: Uloboridae): 24, f. 2B

  40. Uloborus danolius (♂)

    Gajbe, 1993e Description of the male of Uloborus danolius Tikader (Araneae: Uloboridae): 235, f. 1-3

  41. Zosis geniculatus (♂; ♀ f. 3B-C is an undescribed Philoponella per Song, Zhu & Chen, 1999: 85)

    Song & Zhu, 1994 On some species of cave arachnids of China: 38, f. 3A

  42. Uloborus luteolus (♀)

    Schmidt, Geisthardt & Piepho, 1994 Zur Kenntnis der Spinnenfauna der Kapverdischen Inseln (Arachnida: Araneida): 87, f. 2

  43. Zosis geniculatus (♂♀)

    Roth, 1994 Spider Genera of North America, with Keys to Families and Genera, and a Guide to Literature, third edition: 192, f. 5, 9

  44. Zosis geniculatus (♀)

    Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 Riceland spiders of South and Southeast Asia: 27, f. 7a-b

  45. Philoponella xiamenensis (Original description ♀)

    Xie et al., 1997 Five new species of the family Uloboridae (Arachnida: Araneae) from China: 35, f. 10-12

  46. Zosis geniculatus (♂♀, Synonym of Philoponella xiamenensis)

    Song, Zhu & Chen, 1999 The spiders of China: 85, f. 35N-O, 37A

  47. Uloborus danolius (♂)

    Gajbe, 2004b Studies on some spiders of the families Oecobiidae, Eresidae, Hersiliidae, Urocteidae and Uloboridae (Araneae: Arachnida) from Madhya Pradesh, India: 139, f. 9-11

  48. Uloborus danolius (♂)

    Gajbe, 2007 Araneae: Arachnida: 431, f. 20-22

  49. Zosis geniculata (♂)

    Penney, 2008 Dominican amber spiders: A comparative palaeontological-neontological approach to identification, faunistics, ecology and biogeography: 88, f. 5.60

  50. Zosis geniculatus (♂♀)

    Yoshida, 2009b Uloboridae, Theridiidae, Ctenidae: 145, f. 8-11, 26-27

  51. Zosis geniculata (♂♀)

    Saaristo, 2010 Araneae: 288, f. 40.32-41

  52. Zosis geniculata (♀)

    Sen et al., 2015 Spiders (Araneae: Arachnida) of reserve forests of Dooars: Gorumara National Park, Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary and Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary: 22, f. 29-33, pl. 12

  53. Zosis geniculata (Synonym of Zosis geniculata altissima, Z. geniculata humilis, Z. geniculata quadripunctata and Z. geniculata similis, confirming Bonnet, 1959: 4763)

    Alayón & Sherwood, 2022 Nomenclatural notes on some enigmatic Cuban spiders described by Pelegrín Franganillo Balboa (1873–1955) (Araneae: Araneomorphae): 613 doi:10.13156/arac.2022.19.3.609

  54. Zosis geniculata (m♀, Synonym of Uloborus danolius)

    Asha & Sudhikumar, 2023 Uloborus danolius Tikader, 1969 is a junior synonym of Zosis geniculata (Olivier, 1789) (Araneae: Uloboridae): 360, f. 1-14

  55. Zosis geniculata (♂♀)

    de Luna, Solís-Rojas & García-Barrios, 2023 New state records of the humped spider Zosis geniculata (Olivier, 1789) (Araneae: Uloboridae) in Mexico: 694, f. 1A-C, 3A-B doi:10.35249/rche.49.4.23.03

  56. Zosis geniculatus (♂♀)

    Baert et al., 2023 Updated checklist, origin, distribution, literature and genital drawings of the spiders of the Galápagos Islands: 36, f. 140A-F

* Retrieved from the World Spider Catalog.

Distribution Map for Zosis geniculata (Olivier, 1789)

Widespread, including Singapore, Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah), Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines, India, China, Japan, Australia, Guadeloupe.

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