Phylogeny Species now placed in the genus
Eratigena were previously placed in
Tegenaria and
Malthonica. In 2013, a study was carried out on European house spiders in the "
Tegenaria-Malthonica complex". Using both morphological and molecular data, the study found four well-supported
clades, one of which constituted a new genus
Eratigena, comprising species formerly placed in
Tegenaria and
Malthonica. The name
Eratigena is an anagram of
Tegenaria. Some
Tegenaria species had previously been separated into the new genus
Aterigena, another anagram of
Tegenaria. Although the genera involved in the study were consistently found to be
monophyletic, different analyses found different relationships among them. Based on both morphological and
DNA data, one hypothesis for the phylogeny of
Eratigena and related genera is: }}
Identification Bolzern et al. (2013) provide a key to the European agelenid genera.
Eratigena can be differentiated from
Malthonica by the un-notched
trochanters on legs III and IV (notched in
Malthonica). The genus differs from
Tegenaria in the number and size of the teeth on the rear margin of the
chelicerae.
Eratigena has six or more teeth, with those closer to the body of the spider being smaller.
Tegenaria has three to six large teeth, more or less equal in size.
Species , the
World Spider Catalog accepted the following thirty-nine species: •
Eratigena agrestis (Walckenaer, 1802) – Europe to Central Asia, introduced into USA and Canada (hobo spider) •
Eratigena arganoi (Brignoli, 1971) – Italy •
Eratigena atrica (C. L. Koch, 1843) – Europe, introduced in North America (giant house spider) •
Eratigena balearica (Brignoli, 1978) – Balearic Islands •
Eratigena barrientosi (Bolzern, Crespo & Cardoso, 2009) – Portugal •
Eratigena blanda (Gertsch, 1971) – Mexico •
Eratigena bucculenta (L. Koch, 1868) – Portugal, Spain •
Eratigena caverna (Gertsch, 1971) – Mexico •
Eratigena decora (Gertsch, 1971) – Mexico •
Eratigena duellica (Simon, 1875) – Canada, US, Europe •
Eratigena edmundoi Bolzern & Hänggi, 2016 – Mexico •
Eratigena feminea (Simon, 1870) – Portugal, Spain, Madeira, Algeria •
Eratigena fernandoi Bolzern & Hänggi, 2016 – Mexico •
Eratigena flexuosa (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902) – Mexico •
Eratigena florea (Brignoli, 1974) – Mexico •
Eratigena fuesslini (Pavesi, 1873) – Europe •
Eratigena gertschi (Roth, 1968) – Mexico •
Eratigena guanato Bolzern & Hänggi, 2016 – Mexico •
Eratigena herculea (Fage, 1931) – Spain, Ibiza •
Eratigena hispanica (Fage, 1931) – Spain •
Eratigena incognita (Bolzern, Crespo & Cardoso, 2009) – Portugal •
Eratigena inermis (Simon, 1870) – Portugal, Spain, France •
Eratigena laksao Bolzern & Jäger, 2015 – Laos •
Eratigena mexicana (Roth, 1968) – Mexico •
Eratigena montigena (Simon, 1937) – Portugal, Spain •
Eratigena picta (Simon, 1870) – Europe, Russia, North Africa •
Eratigena queretaro Bolzern & Hänggi, 2016 – Mexico •
Eratigena rothi (Gertsch, 1971) – Mexico •
Eratigena saeva (Blackwall, 1844) – Western Europe, Canada •
Eratigena sardoa (Brignoli, 1977) – Sardinia •
Eratigena selva (Roth, 1968) – Mexico •
Eratigena serrana (Barrientos & Sánchez-Corral, 2013) – Spain •
Eratigena sicana (Brignoli, 1976) – Sicily, Sardinia •
Eratigena talassemtane Lecigne & Bosmans, 2023 – Morocco •
Eratigena tlaxcala (Roth, 1968) – Mexico •
Eratigena vidua (Cárdenas & Barrientos, 2011) – Spain •
Eratigena vomeroi (Brignoli, 1977) – Italy •
Eratigena xilitla Bolzern & Hänggi, 2016 – Mexico •
Eratigena yarini Bolzern & Hänggi, 2016 – Mexico ==See also==