Woodlouse spider: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the woodlouse spider lives – recorded in 19 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Dysdera crocata
Group	Spiders, scorpions & other arachnids
Found in	19 countries
Continents	Africa, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America
Class	Arachnid
Order	Araneida
Family	Dysderidae

Where does the woodlouse spider live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the woodlouse spider in 19 countries and territories across Africa, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Texas. In Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Portugal, South Africa it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

United States
France (introduced)
Portugal (introduced)
Canada (introduced)
Switzerland
United Kingdom (introduced)
New Zealand
Germany (introduced)
Argentina
Australia (introduced)
Ireland
Belgium (introduced)
Italy
South Africa (introduced)
Chile
Spain (introduced)
Denmark (introduced)
Mexico
Ukraine

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the woodlouse spider?

The woodlouse spider (Dysdera crocata) is an arachnid in the order Araneida and the family Dysderidae, genus Dysdera. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the woodlouse spider

The woodlouse spider (Dysdera crocata) is a species of spider that preys primarily upon woodlice. Other common names refer to variations on the common name of its prey, including woodlouse hunter, sowbug hunter, sowbug killer, pillbug hunter and slater spider.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Woodlouse spider (revision 1374892732), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1150747 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).