Eusparassus
Genus of spiders
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eusparassus is a genus of huntsman spiders, known as the stone huntsman spiders,[2] it was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903.[3]
| Eusparassus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| |
| Eusparassus dufouri | |
 | |
| female E. jaegeri | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Sparassidae |
| Genus: | Eusparassus Simon, 1903[1] |
| Type species | |
| E. dufouri Simon, 1932 | |
| Species | |
|
33, see text | |
Description
They are medium to large huntsman spiders, their bodies measuring from 10mm to 30mm. Their eyes are arranged in two rows, the anterior one being slightly recurved, while the posterior ones are relatively straight. They are pale gray to dark brown spiders, with a uniform coloration in their body. Some may have a clearly patterned body with banded legs.[4]
Identification
They can be identified by the presence of two pairs of tibial spines on the legs and distinguished from the Olios genus by the palpal bulb morphology.[2]
Habitat
They are commonly found in arid and semiarid deserts of Africa and most parts of Eurasia where they inhabit stony habitats and build retreats in crevices. They are one of the most visible arachnid predators in their habitats. They can be found in very high elevations from 3,000 to 4,000m above sea level.[2]
Webs
Species
male E. schoemanae
As of September 2025[update], this genus includes 33 species, found in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Peru:[1]
- Eusparassus arabicus Moradmand, 2013 – Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
- Eusparassus atlanticus Simon, 1909 – Morocco
- Eusparassus barbarus (Lucas, 1846) – Algeria, Tunisia
- Eusparassus bicorniger (Pocock, 1898) – Egypt, Ethiopia, East Africa
- Eusparassus borakalalo Moradmand, 2013 – South Africa
- Eusparassus doriae (Simon, 1874) – Iran
- Eusparassus dufouri Simon, 1932 – Portugal, Spain. Introduced to the Netherlands (type species)
- Eusparassus educatus Moradmand, 2013 – Namibia
- Eusparassus flavidus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885) – China (Yarkand)
- Eusparassus fritschi (C. Koch, 1873) – Morocco
- Eusparassus fuscimanus Denis, 1958 – Afghanistan
- Eusparassus jaegeri Moradmand, 2013 – Botswana, South Africa
- Eusparassus jocquei Moradmand, 2013 – Zimbabwe
- Eusparassus kronebergi Denis, 1958 – Iran, Afghanistan, India
- Eusparassus laevatus (Simon, 1897) – Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Arabian Peninsula
- Eusparassus letourneuxi (Simon, 1874) – Algeria, Tunisia
- Eusparassus levantinus Urones, 2006 – Spain
- Eusparassus maynardi (Pocock, 1901) – Pakistan
- Eusparassus mesopotamicus Moradmand & Jäger, 2012 – Iraq, Iran, Turkey?
- Eusparassus oculatus (Kroneberg, 1875) – Iran, Central Asia, China
- Eusparassus oraniensis (Lucas, 1846) – North Africa
- Eusparassus pearsoni (Pocock, 1901) – India
- Eusparassus perezi (Simon, 1902) – Somalia, Djibouti, Arabian Peninsula
- Eusparassus pontii Caporiacco, 1935 – India, Pakistan
- Eusparassus potanini (Simon, 1895) – China
- Eusparassus reverentia Moradmand, 2013 – Burkina Faso, Nigeria
- Eusparassus schoemanae Moradmand, 2013 – Namibia, South Africa
- Eusparassus shefteli Chamberlin, 1916 – Peru
- Eusparassus syrticus Simon, 1909 – Tunisia
- Eusparassus tuckeri (Lawrence, 1927) – Angola, Namibia
- Eusparassus vestigator (Simon, 1897) – Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania
- Eusparassus walckenaeri (Audouin, 1826) – Greece, Turkey, Algeria, Iraq, Sudan
- Eusparassus xerxes (Pocock, 1901) – United Arab Emirates, Iran, Pakistan
