Sphodros niger, the black purse-web spider, is a mygalomorph spider from the Eastern United States.Fitch, Henry S. (1963): Spiders of The University of Kansas Natural History Reservation and Rockefeller Experimental Tract. It is listed as a special concern species in Connecticut."Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015". State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
Description Males have a body length of about 11 mm, 29 mm with extended legs. The body is black, except for chocolate-brown legs. Although the species was first described in 1842, females were first described in 1980.Platnick, Norman I. (2009): The world spider catalog, version 9.5. American Museum of Natural History. This results from the male's behavior of wandering about in search of mates, while females, which reside in tubes, are rarely found.
Name The species name niger is Latin for "black".
References
Further reading
Gertsch, W.J. & Platnick, N.I. (1980). A revision of the American spiders of the family Atypidae (Araneae, Mygalomorphae). American Museum Novitates 2704. Abstract - PDF (12Mb)