Ctenus captiosus

Ctenus captiosus, known generally as the Florida false wolf spider or tropical wolf spider, is a species of wandering spider in the family Ctenidae. It is found in the United States.[1][2][3][4], and is one of two species of Ctenidae occurring in Florida. Little is known about the biology of this species[5].

Ctenus captiosus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Ctenidae
Genus: Ctenus
Species:
C. captiosus
Binomial name
Ctenus captiosus
Gertsch, 1935

Description

The body length (excluding legs) of a male is 10–14 mm (0.39–0.55 in), and for females 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in). The leg span may be as long as 75 mm (3.0 in). The abdomen is a yellow-gray except for a pale median band consisting of a series of connected triangles edged by brown. The dorsal surface of the legs are dark like the carapace, but the underside of the legs and sternum are much paler, almost yellow. They prefer mesic habitats, and are most commonly seen in the springtime, presumably as they are searching for mates as the weather warms. Generally, C. Captiosus can be found in both oak and pine trees, leaf litter, and caves [5]. Ctenus captiosus has also appeared in large numbers in summer in pond pine and sand pine scrub, and in the fall in flatwoods [6].

Toxicology

A study conducted by researchers at Lewis & Clark College on a single female C. Captiosus found that it carried a total venom protein of 604.25[7]. It has been reported that a bite from this species is described as a needle-like puncture with subsequent swelling about the site, nausea, dizziness, and flulike symptoms that persist for several days[8]. Another case implicated a cause of a necrotic bite, although evidence was circumstantial and an assay of the venom did not find Sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase D[9].

While there have been reports of bites being harmful to humans, there is no substantial research or evidence that supports this.

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References
  1. "Ctenus captiosus Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  2. "Ctenus captiosus". GBIF. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  3. "Ctenus captiosus". NMBE World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  4. "The Florida false wolf spider, Ctenus captiosus" (PDF). fdacs. 1989-06-01. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  5. "THE JOURNAL OF ARACHNOLOGY" (PDF). americanarachnology. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  6. "The phylogenetic distribution of sphingomyelinase D activity in venoms of Haplogyne spiders". lclark. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  7. "Phoneutria nigriventer". sciencedirect. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  8. "brown recluse spider". ufl. Retrieved 2020-05-12.


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