Parasteatoda is a genus of comb-footed spiders that was first described by Allan Frost Archer in 1946.

Name The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek "para-" (), meaning "near" or "next to", and the theridiid genus Steatoda.

The Japanese name for this genus is O-himegumo zoku.

Description

Parasteatoda species have a characteristic teardrop-shaped abdomen, with the anterior section much higher than the carapace and the spinnerets pointed downwards. The abdomen's colouration is highly variable, both between and often within species. They have slight sexual dimorphism; males are visually similar to females, although slightly smaller.

The carapace is oval. The stridulating apparatus of the male is present as a partial lunate plate on either side of the pedicel. The abdomen is nearly spherical, usually with a small posterior projection.

The basic colour ranges from greyish brown to blackish brown, while some are bright orange, with a broad, longitudinal cardiac pattern and some transverse spots. The leg formula is 1243 in males and 1423 in females.

Species It is mostly an Old World genus, with many species found in Asia and New Guinea, though the distribution reaches into Europe. A few species originate from the New World, but many have been introduced, and they are becoming more widespread in the Americas and Europe.

Species

, this genus includes 42 species and one subspecies:

Parasteatoda aequipeiformis Yang, Irfan & Peng, 2019 – China Parasteatoda angulithorax (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906) – Russia (Far East), China, Korea, Japan Parasteatoda asiatica (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906) – China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan Parasteatoda camura (Simon, 1877) – China (Hainan), Philippines, Indonesia (New Guinea), Solomon Islands Parasteatoda celsabdomina (Zhu, 1998) – India, China, Thailand, Laos Parasteatoda cingulata (Zhu, 1998) – China, Thailand? Parasteatoda corrugata Yoshida, 2016 – Japan Parasteatoda culicivora (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906) – China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan Parasteatoda daliensis (Zhu, 1998) – China, Laos Parasteatoda decorata (L. Koch, 1867) – Indonesia (Krakatau), New Guinea, Australia (Queensland) Parasteatoda ducta (Zhu, 1998) – Taiwan, China (Hainan) (type species) Parasteatoda galeiforma (Zhu, Zhang & Xu, 1991) – China Parasteatoda gui (Zhu, 1998) – China Parasteatoda hammeni (Chrysanthus, 1963) – Indonesia (New Guinea) Parasteatoda hatsushibai Yoshida, 2009 – Japan Parasteatoda jinghongensis (Zhu, 1998) – China Parasteatoda kaindi (Levi, Lubin & Robinson, 1982) – Papua New Guinea Parasteatoda kentingensis Yoshida, 2015 – Taiwan Parasteatoda kompirensis (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906) – India, China, Korea, Japan Parasteatoda lanyuensis (Yoshida, Tso & Severinghaus, 2000) – Taiwan Parasteatoda longiducta (Zhu, 1998) – China Parasteatoda lunata (Clerck, 1757) – Europe, Turkey, Israel, Caucasus, Russia (Europe to Far East), Iran. Introduced to South Africa Parasteatoda merapiensis Yoshida & Takasuka, 2011 – Indonesia (Java) Parasteatoda nigrovittata (Keyserling, 1884) – Mexico to Argentina Parasteatoda oxymaculata (Zhu, 1998) – China, India, Laos Parasteatoda palmata Gao & Li, 2014 – China Parasteatoda polygramma (Kulczyński, 1911) – New Guinea Parasteatoda quadrimaculata (Yoshida, Tso & Severinghaus, 2000) – Taiwan Parasteatoda ryukyu (Yoshida, 2000) – Korea, Japan, Taiwan Parasteatoda simulans (Thorell, 1875) – Europe, Turkey, Caucasus, Russia (Europe to South Siberia) Parasteatoda songi (Zhu, 1998) – China Parasteatoda subtabulata (Zhu, 1998) – China Parasteatoda subvexa (Zhu, 1998) – China Parasteatoda tabulata (Levi, 1980) – Tropical Asia. Introduced to North America, Europe, Georgia, Russia (Europe to Far East), Central Asia, China, Korea, Japan Parasteatoda taiwanica Yoshida, 2015 – Taiwan Parasteatoda tepidariorum (C. L. Koch, 1841) – Asia. Introduced to Canada, United States, South America, Europe, Morocco, Turkey, Caucasus, Russia (Europe to Far East), St. Helena, South Africa, Seychelles, New Zealand, Hawaii (type species) P. t. australis (Thorell, 1895) – Myanmar Parasteatoda transipora (Zhu & Zhang, 1992) – China, Taiwan Parasteatoda triangula (Yoshida, 1993) – Singapore, Indonesia (Java, Bali) Parasteatoda valoka (Chrysanthus, 1975) – New Guinea, Papua New Guinea (New Britain) Parasteatoda vervoorti (Chrysanthus, 1975) – New Guinea Parasteatoda wangi Jin & Zhang, 2013 – China Parasteatoda wau (Levi, Lubin & Robinson, 1982) – Papua New Guinea

Formerly included: P. brookesiana (Barrion & Litsinger, 1995) (Transferred to Nihonhimea) P. campanulata (Chen, 1993) (Transferred to Campanicola) P. ferrumequina (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906) (Transferred to Campanicola) P. japonica (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906) (Transferred to Nihonhimea) P. mundula (L. Koch, 1872) (Transferred to Nihonhimea) P. mundula (Chrysanthus, 1963) (Transferred to Nihonhimea) P. oculiprominens Saito, 1939 (Transferred to Keijiella) P. tesselata (Keyserling, 1884) (Transferred to Nihonhimea)

In synonymy: P. boqueronica (Kraus, 1955) = Parasteatoda nigrovittata (Keyserling, 1884) P. krausi (Chrysanthus, 1963) = Parasteatoda camura (Simon, 1877) P. lunata (Olivier, 1789) = Parasteatoda lunata (Clerck, 1757) P. mesax Levi, 1959 = Parasteatoda nigrovittata (Keyserling, 1884) P. nipponica (Yoshida, 1983) = Parasteatoda tabulata (Levi, 1980) P. obnubila (Keyserling, 1891) = Parasteatoda nigrovittata (Keyserling, 1884) P. pallida (Walckenaer, 1841) = Parasteatoda tepidariorum (C. L. Koch, 1841)

References

Further reading