Agelenopsis
Template:Short description Template:Automatic taxobox
Agelenopsis, commonly known as the American grass spiders, is a genus of funnel weavers described by C.G. Giebel in 1869.<ref name=Gieb1869 /> They weave sheet webs that have a funnel shelter on one edge. The web is not sticky, but these spiders make up for that by running very rapidly.
Description
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Agelenopsis sp. male, 17 mm (about Template:Frac inch) -
Same, showing elaborate pedipalps -
Same, from the side
The larger specimens (depending on species) can grow to about 19 mm in body length. They may be recognized by the arrangement of their eight eyes into three rows. The top row has two eyes, the middle row has four eyes, and the bottom row has two eyes (spaced wider than the ones on the top row). They have two prominent hind spinnerets, somewhat indistinct bands on their legs, and two dark bands running down either side of the cephalothorax.
The main distinction between Agelenopsis and the related European genus Agelena consists of the pattern appearing on the cephalothorax; the former possesses two quasiparallel lines from the eyes to the beginning of the abdomen. The latter genus has curved, irregular lines that often meet at the end. Another difference is the length of the front legs row in females, but in males, the similarities are not as in line.
Name
The genus name is a combination of Agelena (Eurasian grass spiders), a genus of similar spiders, and Greek -opsis "to look like". They are harmless spiders. Although most spiders use their webs to catch prey, the grass spider's web lacks adhesive ability. The spiders make up for that with their fast running.
Species
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mating pair -
A. pennsylvanica female in web
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Agelenopsis under a magnifying glass
Template:As of, this genus includes fourteen species:<ref name="wsc" /> Template:Div col
- Agelenopsis actuosa (Gertsch & Ivie, 1936) – Canada, United States
- Agelenopsis aleenae Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935 – United States
- Agelenopsis aperta (Gertsch, 1934) – United States, Mexico
- Agelenopsis emertoni Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935 – Canada, United States
- Agelenopsis kastoni Chamberlin & Ivie, 1941 – United States
- Agelenopsis longistylus (Banks, 1901) – United States
- Agelenopsis naevia (Walckenaer, 1841) – Canada, United States
- Agelenopsis oklahoma (Gertsch, 1936) – Canada, United States
- Agelenopsis oregonensis Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935 – Canada, United States
- Agelenopsis pennsylvanica (C. L. Koch, 1843) – Canada, United States
- Agelenopsis potteri (Blackwall, 1846) – Canada, United States, Mexico. Introduced to Ukraine, Russia (Europe, Far East), Kyrgyzstan, China (type species)
- Agelenopsis riechertae Bosco & Chuang, 2018 – United States
- Agelenopsis spatula Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935 – United States
- Agelenopsis utahana (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1933) – Alaska, Canada, United States
Gallery
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Agelenopsis sp. showing pronounced leg spines
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Agelenopsis in its web -
Agelenopsis in web built on grass, with prey
