Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Geographic Range
Apparently introduced to central and southern Florida from Cuba.
About Spiders: the wider group
Order-level background for Araneae, the group containing Decaphora cubana. Species-specific details appear above.
Group overview
As of 2023, 51,673 spider species in 136 families have been recorded, though an estimated 150,000 species exist. Spiders rank 7th in total species diversity among all organism orders. Only 0.5% of spider species pose any risk to human health.
Ecological role of the group
Spider venom contains complex peptides with diverse pharmacological activities, making them valuable for drug development research. Spiders produce up to 7 types of silk from specialized glands. Spider silk genes have been inserted into mammals and plants for biotech applications.
Economic and practical significance of the group
The global spider community kills an estimated 400-800 million tons of prey annually (2017 study). Spiders provide billions of dollars in natural pest control for agriculture. Spider silk is 5× stronger than steel of the same diameter, driving a biomaterials research industry.
Recorded sources for this group: World Spider Catalog, PNAS, Nature, ScienceDirect. Imported estimates may describe particular regions or reporting periods.
(c) Mudgie, all rights reserved, uploaded by Mudgie | (c) Patricia Clayton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Patricia Clayton | (c) Tyler Bishop, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tyler Bishop | (c) Wes Boone, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Wes Boone | (c) Cole Shoemaker, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Cole Shoemaker | (c) Sarah Kelsey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Sarah Kelsey | Contributed by Mandy Howe(c) Mudgie, all rights reserved, uploaded by Mudgie | (c) Patricia Clayton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Patricia Clayton | (c) Tyler Bishop, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tyler Bishop | (c) Wes Boone, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Wes Boone | (c) Cole Shoemaker, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Cole Shoemaker | (c) Sarah Kelsey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Sarah Kelsey | Contributed by Mandy Howe(c) Mudgie, all rights reserved, uploaded by Mudgie | (c) Patricia Clayton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Patricia Clayton | (c) Tyler Bishop, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tyler Bishop | (c) Wes Boone, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Wes Boone | (c) Cole Shoemaker, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Cole Shoemaker | (c) Sarah Kelsey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Sarah Kelsey | Contributed by Mandy Howe(c) Mudgie, all rights reserved, uploaded by Mudgie | (c) Patricia Clayton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Patricia Clayton | (c) Tyler Bishop, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tyler Bishop | (c) Wes Boone, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Wes Boone | (c) Cole Shoemaker, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Cole Shoemaker | (c) Sarah Kelsey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Sarah Kelsey | Contributed by Mandy Howe(c) Mudgie, all rights reserved, uploaded by Mudgie | (c) Patricia Clayton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Patricia Clayton | (c) Tyler Bishop, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tyler Bishop | (c) Wes Boone, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Wes Boone | (c) Cole Shoemaker, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Cole Shoemaker | (c) Sarah Kelsey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Sarah Kelsey | Contributed by Mandy Howe(c) Mudgie, all rights reserved, uploaded by Mudgie | (c) Patricia Clayton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Patricia Clayton | (c) Tyler Bishop, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tyler Bishop | (c) Wes Boone, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Wes Boone | (c) Cole Shoemaker, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Cole Shoemaker | (c) Sarah Kelsey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Sarah Kelsey | Contributed by Mandy Howe(c) Mudgie, all rights reserved, uploaded by Mudgie | (c) Patricia Clayton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Patricia Clayton | (c) Tyler Bishop, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tyler Bishop | (c) Wes Boone, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Wes Boone | (c) Cole Shoemaker, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Cole Shoemaker | (c) Sarah Kelsey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Sarah Kelsey | Contributed by Mandy Howe(c) Mudgie, all rights reserved, uploaded by Mudgie | (c) Patricia Clayton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Patricia Clayton | (c) Tyler Bishop, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tyler Bishop | (c) Wes Boone, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Wes Boone | (c) Cole Shoemaker, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Cole Shoemaker | (c) Sarah Kelsey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Sarah Kelsey | Contributed by Mandy Howe
Photo credits: (c) Mudgie, all rights reserved, uploaded by Mudgie | (c) Patricia Clayton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Patricia Clayton | (c) Tyler Bishop, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tyler Bishop | (c) Wes Boone, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Wes Boone | (c) Cole Shoemaker, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Cole Shoemaker | (c) Sarah Kelsey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Sarah Kelsey | Contributed by Mandy Howe
