Artema

Walckenaer, 1837

Giant Cellar Spiders

Artema is a of cellar ( Pholcidae) first described by Charles Athanase Walckenaer in 1837. The genus includes some of the largest pholcid spiders and is primarily distributed from West Africa through Central Asia to Pakistan. One , A. atlanta, has been worldwide. The genus comprises twelve recognized species as of October 2025.

Artema atlanta by (c)
Lucinda Gibson, Museum Victoria, some rights reserved (CC BY). Used under a CC-BY license.

Artema atlanta by Lucinda Gibson, Museum Victoria. Used under a CC BY 3.0 au license.

Artema atlanta 138112770 by Vihansith Kulatunga. Used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Artema: //ˈɑr.tə.mə//

These audio files are automatically generated. While they are not always 100% accurate, they are a good starting point.

Identification

Artema are distinguished from other pholcid by their notably large body size. Males possess conical enlarged bearing a , and with hairs arranged in an S-shaped pattern. The is globose with dark vertical extending from top to bottom. The epigynal plate in females shows dark and transparent spots with an indented margin. A. martensi is the largest known pholcid species by male width.

Images

Habitat

Natural include caves and subterranean environments; A. martensi occurs in caves in the western Anti-Atlas of Morocco but is not troglomorphic. of A. atlanta inhabit old houses, buildings, and feed cattle stores.

Distribution

range extends from West Africa through Central Asia, the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, and the eastern Mediterranean to Pakistan. A. martensi represents the northwestern African limit in Morocco. A. atlanta has been globally.

Diet

Laboratory observations indicate on various , though natural preferences remain undocumented.

Life Cycle

Females produce spherical sacs approximately 8 mm in diameter containing about 66 eggs. Embryonic development requires 25–30 days at laboratory temperatures, with hatching rates of 80–100%. Temperature positively correlates with hatching rate and negatively with development duration. Newly hatched spiderlings measure 1.2 mm and grow approximately 0.1 mm weekly, reaching 2 mm total length by week 10.

Human Relevance

A. atlanta is a associated with human structures in its range and has been worldwide, though specific impacts or benefits to humans are not documented.

Similar Taxa

Other Pholcidae generaArtema are substantially larger than most cellar ; male width in A. martensi exceeds that of all other known pholcids.

More Details

Body Size Evolution

Comparative analysis of 1,632 pholcid demonstrates that Artema includes the largest members of the . Long-term data show a trend of decreasing mean body size among newly described pholcid species over 50-year and 20-year periods, making Artema's large size increasingly exceptional.