Uliodon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Uliodon |
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| A Uliodon species | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Zoropsidae |
| Genus: | Uliodon L. Koch, 1873 |
Uliodon is a type of spider found mostly in New Zealand. They might also live in Australia. People often call them vagrant spiders.
These spiders are usually dark brown or almost black. Their bodies are about 20 millimeters (0.8 inches) long. Their legs can spread out to about 50 millimeters (2 inches). Male Uliodon spiders have bright orange parts on their pedipalps. These are small feelers near their mouths.
Uliodon spiders hunt at night. They eat small creatures that live on the ground. During the day, they hide under logs and rocks. You can find them in many places. This includes native forests, tree farms, open areas, and even rocky slopes. Sometimes, they might even wander into houses.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
After mating, the female spider gets ready to lay her eggs. She builds a special silk-lined room. This room is usually under a log or a stone on the forest floor. It can also be inside a rotten log.
Inside this room, the female makes a large, round egg sac. She guards this egg sac carefully. She stays with it until the baby spiders hatch. Once the young spiders hatch, they leave the nest and go their own way. These spiders seem to live all over New Zealand.
Understanding Uliodon Spiders
Scientists have identified a few types of Uliodon spiders. As of 2015, there are three or possibly four accepted species. However, it can be hard to tell them apart just from their descriptions.
Here are the main types found in New Zealand:
- Uliodon albopunctatus
- Uliodon cervinus
- Uliodon frenatus
The male spiders of Uliodon albopunctatus and Uliodon cervinus have not yet been fully described by scientists.
In 2003, two scientists, Robert Raven and Kylie Stumkat, studied these spiders. They decided that Uliodon spiders mostly live only in New Zealand. They moved many Australian Uliodon species to other spider groups. They also moved Uliodon from the Miturgidae family to the Zoropsidae family.
There is one other species, Uliodon ferrugineus, found in Australia. Scientists think there might be about 40 more types of Uliodon spiders that haven't been described yet. These might even belong to different spider groups.
Are Uliodon Spiders Dangerous?
Uliodon spiders are generally not considered dangerous to humans. However, because they are quite large, their bites can be painful if you handle them roughly.
Usually, a bite from an Uliodon spider does not cause serious problems. But in 1971, a scientist named Watt reported one case where a person had a bad reaction. This person felt pain, had swollen skin, and stiff joints after being bitten.
