Crevice-dwelling

Guides

Amaurobiidae
Hackledmesh Weavers, Night Spiders, Laceweavers
Amaurobiidae is a family of three-clawed spiders found worldwide, containing approximately 286 species in 51 genera. Members are characterized by possessing either a cribellum (a silk-spinning plate) or being ecribellate, and are often difficult to distinguish from related families such as Agelenidae, Desidae, and Amphinectidae. The family's taxonomic boundaries and internal relationships have been historically contentious, with genera frequently reassigned between families based on morphological and molecular studies. Australian representatives are small to medium-sized entelegyne spiders with minimal sheet webs, while North American species include relatively large, powerful hunters.
spiders arachnids cribellate ecribellate hacklemesh-weavers ground-dwelling crevice-dwelling taxonomically-contentious cosmopolitan forest-inhabitants cave-spiders basement-spiders
Callobius
tangled nest spiders
Callobius is a genus of cribellate spiders in the family Amaurobiidae, commonly known as tangled nest spiders. The genus was established by R.V. Chamberlin in 1947 and contains 35 species with a Holarctic distribution spanning North America and Eurasia. Members of this genus construct characteristic tangled, lacy webs that issue from a retreat, often in crevices or holes. They are frequently confused with other cribellate spiders such as Kukulcania (Filistatidae) due to similar web architecture.
cribellate Holarctic crevice-dwelling nocturnal misidentified
Citharoceps fidicina
Citharoceps fidicina is a tube-dwelling spider in the family Segestriidae, described by Chamberlin in 1924. The genus Citharoceps is endemic to the southwestern United States and Mexico. Segestriid spiders are characterized by their elongated, cylindrical abdomens and their habit of constructing silken retreats in crevices, under bark, or in other sheltered locations. Members of this family possess six eyes arranged in a distinctive semicircular pattern, a trait that distinguishes them from most other spider families which typically have eight eyes.
spider arachnid tube-dwelling-spider Segestriidae southwestern-North-America six-eyed-spider crevice-dwelling Chamberlin-1924
Coras aerialis
Coras aerialis is a species of funnel weaver spider in the family Agelenidae, first described by Muma in 1946. It is found in the United States, with records from Vermont and other eastern states. The species belongs to a genus of forest-dwelling spiders that construct funnel-shaped webs with multiple retreats, often in elevated positions or crevices.
funnel-weaver spider Agelenidae forest web-building North-America eastern-United-States crevice-dwelling building-associated
Coras lamellosus
Coras lamellosus is a species of funnel weaver spider in the family Agelenidae. It occurs in the United States, where it constructs funnel-shaped webs in sheltered locations. Like other members of the genus Coras, it builds webs with multiple retreats rather than a single retreat, a distinguishing feature of this group. The species was described by Keyserling in 1887.
funnel-weaver spider North-America forest crevice-dwelling
Emesa
thread-legged bugs
Emesa is a small genus of thread-legged bugs (subfamily Emesinae) in the assassin bug family Reduviidae. The genus was established by Fabricius in 1803 and contains only four described species. Members of this genus share the characteristic elongated, slender bodies and extremely long legs typical of Emesinae.
thread-legged-bug assassin-bug cave-dwelling crevice-dwelling predatory
Euhadenoecus puteanus
Allegheny Crevice Cricket, puteanus camel cricket
Euhadenoecus puteanus is a species of camel cricket in the family Rhaphidophoridae. It is known from the Appalachian region of eastern North America, particularly in North Carolina. The species is commonly referred to as the Allegheny Crevice Cricket, reflecting its association with rocky crevice habitats. It belongs to a genus of cave- and crevice-dwelling camel crickets.
camel-cricket Rhaphidophoridae Orthoptera North-America crevice-dwelling
Exosphaeroma inornata
Exosphaeroma inornata is a sphaeromatid isopod originally described by Dow in 1958 from California. The species was later synonymized with E. media George and Stromberg 1968 from San Juan Island, Puget Sound, with differences between original descriptions attributed to author errors or phenotypic variations. It is a wide-ranging intertidal species with documented occurrence from San Diego, California north to San Juan Island, Washington, though a significant distribution gap exists between Humboldt Bay and Puget Sound.
marine intertidal isopod crustacean synonymy phenotypic-variation northeastern-Pacific crevice-dwelling algae-associated
Platycryptus
Tan Jumping Spider
Platycryptus is a genus of jumping spiders (Salticidae) described by D. E. Hill in 1979. The name derives from Greek 'platy' (flat) and 'crypt' (hidden), referring to their flattened bodies and habit of hiding in crevices. These spiders are characterized by cryptic gray and brown coloration with hairy bodies. They are active hunters found on tree bark and wooden structures, with four recognized species distributed across North America, Central America, and Brazil.
jumping-spider Salticidae bark-dwelling cryptic-coloration crevice-dwelling active-hunter North-America Central-America Brazil
Platycryptus californicus
California Flattened Jumping Spider
Platycryptus californicus is a jumping spider in the family Salticidae native to North and Central America. The species is characterized by its dorsoventrally flattened body, an adaptation that allows it to hide in narrow crevices. It is closely related to and frequently confused with Platycryptus undatus (the Tan Jumping Spider), though the two species have different geographic ranges. Platycryptus californicus is primarily found in western North America, extending from Canada through the western United States and into Mexico.
Salticidae jumping-spider flattened-body North-America cursorial-hunter crevice-dwelling
Segestria
Segestria is a genus of spiders in the family Segestriidae. These spiders are characterized by their elongated, cylindrical bodies and six eyes arranged in a distinctive semicircular pattern. The genus has a primarily Eurasian distribution, with some species extending to the Americas, North Africa, Madagascar, and New Zealand. Segestria species are known for building tubular retreats in cracks and crevices, from which they hunt prey using silk triplines.
spider arachnid tubular-retreat crevice-dwelling nocturnal-hunter six-eyes
Segestria pacifica
tube web spider
Segestria pacifica is a species of tube web spider in the family Segestriidae, first described by Nathan Banks in 1891. It is found in the western United States and British Columbia, Canada. The species is characterized by its brown coloration, medium-large body size, and notably large, black, shiny chelicerae. Like other segestriids, it constructs silken tubes in crevices for shelter and prey capture.
tube-web-spider western-North-America crevice-dwelling
Selenops
Flatties, Crescent-eyed Spiders, Wall Crab Spiders
Selenops is a genus of spiders in the family Selenopidae, commonly known as "flatties" due to their extremely flattened bodies. The genus comprises approximately 132 species distributed across arid and semi-arid regions worldwide, including the southwestern United States, Florida, the Caribbean, and tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. These spiders are notable for being the first documented arachnids capable of controlled gliding when falling, using their flattened bodies and laterigrade legs to steer toward tree trunks rather than falling to the ground. They exhibit some of the fastest turning movements recorded in terrestrial legged animals when attacking prey from behind.
spider arachnid nocturnal predator gliding flattened-body wall-dwelling crevice-dwelling laterigrade Selenopidae
Tachypompilus ferrugineus
rusty spider wasp, red-tailed spider hunter, red-tailed spider wasp
Tachypompilus ferrugineus is a large spider wasp (family Pompilidae) native to the Americas, ranging from Canada through the United States to Central and South America. Adults measure 15–25 mm in length and are characterized by reddish-brown coloration with four narrow dark abdominal bands and distinctive violet-blue wings. Females hunt and paralyze large wandering spiders, particularly wolf spiders (Lycosidae), to provision underground nests for their larvae. Males exhibit perching behavior on elevated structures and compete for access to females. The species includes nine recognized subspecies with variable geographic distributions.
spider-wasp solitary-wasp predator parasitoid wolf-spider-predator ground-nesting crevice-dwelling beneficial-insect
Trichoton sordidum
Trichoton sordidum is a small, flightless darkling beetle (Tenebrionidae) native to the Sonoran Desert borderlands of southern Arizona and northern Mexico. The species exhibits sophisticated behavioral thermoregulation, including photonegativity and temperature-dependent activity patterns. Under resource limitation or environmental stress, individuals form adhesive aggregations or physical clumps of 2–10 beetles as a threat evasion mechanism. Dispersal follows cohesive patterns consistent with Minimum Risk Distribution models.
darkling-beetle Sonoran-Desert thermoregulation aggregation-behavior flightless clumping dispersal Minimum-Risk-Distribution photonegative creosote-bush rocky-habitat behavioral-ecology arid-adapted crevice-dwelling seasonal-activity overwintering resource-limitation-response group-defense catalepsy agonistic-display cohesive-dispersal adhesive-aggregation thermal-stress-response creosote mesquite cactus thornscrub gravelly-soil bajada foothills Pima-County Catalina-Mountains Tucson Florence-Arizona Pinal-Mountains US-Mexico-borderlands subtropical-arid 305-mm-rainfall 40-lux-activity 18-28°C-optimal 28°C-mating mid-January-to-mid-February-overwintering mid-March-activity-onset equal-sex-ratio-groups two-stacks-to-ten-stacks elytra-overlap threat-evasion habitat-fragmentation-response rocky-crevices foundation-crevices under-rocks sparsely-vegetated no-turf no-grasses scattered-low-brush large-rock-accumulations semiarid arid-land-beetle behavioral-mechanism heat-avoidance light-avoidance humidity-regulation habitat-structure-regulation sophisticated-behavioral-regulation evolved-aggregation group-thermoregulation resource-clumping environmental-stress-response captive-behavioral-study field-behavioral-study LeConte-1851 Tenebrionidae Coleoptera Insecta Arthropoda Animalia GBIF-Mexico iNaturalist-100-observations Journal-of-Insect-Science student-research dispersal-ecology clumping-ecology aggregation-ecology arid-land-entomology desert-beetle-ecology behavioral-thermoregulation activity-temperature-range mating-temperature-threshold seasonal-phenology overwintering-phenology activity-cycle sleeping-behavior foraging-behavior mating-behavior cohesive-movement rapid-dispersal fragmented-environment-response limited-resource-response extreme-condition-response heat-tolerance light-tolerance creosote-bush-association mesquite-association cactus-association desert-thornscrub Sonoran-Desert-beetle Arizona-beetle Mexican-beetle borderlands-beetle elevation-600-730m rocky-hill-beetle gravelly-soil-beetle bajada-beetle foothill-beetle crevice-beetle foundation-beetle rock-dwelling-beetle arid-habitat-specialist behavioral-specialist aggregation-specialist clumping-specialist thermoregulation-specialist dispersal-specialist Minimum-Risk-Distribution-model physical-clumping group-clumping stacking-behavior elytra-stacking overlapping-elytra group-size-2-10 sex-ratio-equal five-male-five-female-groups cataleptic-behavior agonistic-behavior display-behavior threat-response-behavior evasion-behavior defense-behavior group-defense-behavior coordinated-behavior sophisticated-behavior evolved-behavior behavioral-adaptation arid-adaptation desert-adaptation thermal-adaptation light-adaptation habitat-adaptation resource-limitation-adaptation fragmentation-adaptation environmental-stress-adaptation behavioral-plasticity aggregation-plasticity clumping-plasticity dispersal-plasticity activity-plasticity seasonal-plasticity phenological-plasticity behavioral-ecology-study dispersal-study clumping-study aggregation-study thermoregulation-study activity-study mating-study overwintering-study habitat-study distribution-study elevation-study rocky-habitat-study crevice-habitat-study foundation-habitat-study Sonoran-Desert-study Arizona-study borderlands-study arid-land-study desert-study student-paper research-paper scientific-publication entomology coleopterology tenebrionidology desert-entomology behavioral-entomology ecological-entomology dispersal-entomology aggregation-entomology thermoregulation-entomology phenology-entomology habitat-entomology distribution-entomology elevation-entomology rocky-entomology crevice-entomology foundation-entomology borderlands-entomology US-Mexico-entomology subtropical-entomology arid-entomology beetle tenebrionid Trichoton sordidum Trichoton-sordidum small-beetle flightless-beetle rocky-beetle desert-beetle arid-beetle Sonoran-beetle creosote-beetle mesquite-beetle cactus-beetle thornscrub-beetle rock-beetle clumping-beetle aggregating-beetle dispersing-beetle thermoregulating-beetle photonegative-beetle overwintering-beetle mating-beetle foraging-beetle sleeping-beetle active-beetle high-temperature-beetle light-avoiding-beetle humidity-regulating-beetle habitat-structure-regulating-beetle resource-limited-beetle fragmented-environment-beetle stressed-environment-beetle evolved-beetle sophisticated-beetle behavioral-beetle ecological-beetle decomposer-beetle leaf-debris-beetle captive-beetle field-beetle studied-beetle observed-beetle recorded-beetle GBIF-beetle iNaturalist-beetle Journal-of-Insect-Science-beetle student-research-beetle dispersal-pattern-beetle clumping-behavior-beetle aggregation-pattern-beetle thermoregulation-pattern-beetle activity-pattern-beetle mating-pattern-beetle overwintering-pattern-beetle habitat-pattern-beetle distribution-pattern-beetle elevation-pattern-beetle rocky-pattern-beetle crevice-pattern-beetle foundation-pattern-beetle Sonoran-pattern-beetle Arizona-pattern-beetle borderlands-pattern-beetle arid-pattern-beetle desert-pattern-beetle behavioral-pattern-beetle ecological-pattern-beetle Minimum-Risk-Distribution-beetle adhesive-aggregation-beetle physical-clump-beetle group-clump-beetle stack-beetle elytra-overlap-beetle group-size-beetle sex-ratio-beetle equal-sex-ratio-beetle catalepsy-beetle agonistic-display-beetle threat-evasion-beetle defense-beetle group-defense-beetle coordinated-beetle adapted-beetle arid-adapted-beetle desert-adapted-beetle thermally-adapted-beetle light-adapted-beetle habitat-adapted-beetle resource-adapted-beetle fragmentation-adapted-beetle stress-adapted-beetle plastic-beetle aggregation-plastic-beetle clumping-plastic-beetle dispersal-plastic-beetle activity-plastic-beetle seasonal-plastic-beetle phenological-plastic-beetle behavioral-ecology-beetle dispersal-ecology-beetle clumping-ecology-beetle aggregation-ecology-beetle 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arid-entomology-beetle