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Philodromidae
(Running Crab Spiders)

The spider family Philodromidae, commonly known as Running Crab Spiders, have been sighted 203 times by contributing members. Based on collected data, the geographic range for Philodromidae includes 16 countries and 38 states in the United States. Philodromidae is most often sighted indoors, and during the month of May.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Class: Arachnida
  • Order: Araneae
  • Suborder: Araneomorphae
  • Family: Philodromidae

Common Name (AASMore information icon)

Running Crab Spiders

Other Common Names

Crab Spiders

Author

Tamerlan Thorell, 1870

Sightings Overview

There have been 203 confirmed sightings of Philodromidae (Running Crab Spiders), with the most recent sighting submitted on March 21, 2024 by Spider ID member carol-cummings. The detailed statistics below may not utilize the complete dataset of 203 sightings because of certain Philodromidae sightings reporting incomplete data.

  • Web: 8% of the time, Philodromidae spiders are sighted in a spider web (Sample size: 203)
  • Sex: 5 female and 38 male.
  • Environment: Philodromidae has been sighted 108 times outdoors, and 117 times indoors.
  • Outdoors: Man-made structure (56). On flower (1). Low foliage (18). High foliage (4). Ground layer (8). Under rock or debris (2). Freshwater river, lake, stream (1). Saltwater (1). Open field, pasture, grassland (8). Forest (9).

Location and Range

Philodromidae (Running Crab Spiders) has been sighted in the following countries: Canada, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.

Philodromidae has also been sighted in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Washington, D.C., Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Seasonality

Philodromidae has been primarily sighted during the month of May.

  • January: 6
  • February: 13
  • March: 34
  • April: 58
  • May: 62
  • June: 13
  • July: 3
  • August: 3
  • September: 2
  • October: 5
  • November: 1
  • December: 3

Additional Remarks

  • Spiders in this family have the second pair of legs longer than the rest.
  • Also see the family Thomisidae for more types of “crab spider.”


Genus: Apollophanes

Genus: Ebo

Genus: Philodromus

Genus: Thanatus

Genus: Tibellus (Slender Crab Spiders)

Genus: Titanebo


Featured Pictures

Picture of Philodromidae (Running Crab Spiders) - Dorsal Enlarge Picture
Picture of Philodromidae (Running Crab Spiders) - Male - Lateral Enlarge Picture
Picture of Philodromidae (Running Crab Spiders) - Dorsal Enlarge Picture
Picture of Philodromidae (Running Crab Spiders) - Dorsal Enlarge Picture
Picture of Philodromidae (Running Crab Spiders) Enlarge Picture
Picture of Philodromidae (Running Crab Spiders) - Dorsal Enlarge Picture
Picture of Philodromidae (Running Crab Spiders) - Prey Enlarge Picture
Picture of Philodromidae (Running Crab Spiders) - Dorsal Enlarge Picture
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