Appearance
"C. lyoni" are sexually dimorphic. Females of "C. lyoni" are about 3 to 7 mm in length. Males are slightly smaller, at about 2.5 to 6 mm in length, and have prominent pedipalps. Both sexes possess extremely long fragile legs. Males have slightly longer legs than females. The first pair of legs in larger male individuals can reach up to 6 centimetres in length. The legs are gray to amber in color and covered with numerous small longitudinal brown spots. The 'knee joints' are brown, and the ends of the femur and tibiae are girdled with white. Males also possess a series of 20 to 25 spines on their femur. Their leg formula is I, II, IV, III - the front pair of legs being the longest and the third pair being the shortest.The cephalothorax is wider than it is long, greyish-white to pale amber in color. The carapace is subcircular. In the middle of the upper surface is a deep depression and a darker longitudinal band of color. "C. lyoni", like some other cellar spiders, only have six eyes. They are pearly-white in color and located at the tip of the cephalothorax in two groups of three.
The abdomen is gray with white lateral stripes and various dark and light patches on the sides and the upper surface. An irregular darker stripe runs lengthwise at the bottom surface. The abdomen is angular and somewhat box-shaped, with a small conical hump on the upper back.
They also possess two types of stridulatory organs. The first type is located at the posterior tips of their cephalothorax in the form of two triangular protrusions. The spiders rub these structures with a matching pair of sclerotized plates at the anterior portion of the abdomen, producing sound. These structures are more prominent in females. They also possess stridulatory files on their chelicerae which are rubbed against the pedipalps to produce sound. The second type is more prominent in males.
"C. lyoni" can be distinguished from other members of the genus through several ways: by the characteristic boxy shape of their abdomens; by the presence of two apophyses in the chelicerae of males; or simply by geographic distribution.
Distribution
"C. lyoni" are synanthropic, preferring to live inside or near human-made structures. They usually build large irregular webs in corners of rooms, basements, cellars, and beneath ceilings. They are readily transported by human activity, especially as hitchikers in ships. As a result, "C.lyoni" has been introduced to most of the world, including Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America, and some Pacific islands.Their place of origin is unknown but have been variously posited to be Africa or somewhere in Asia.
Behavior
A single male "C. lyoni" is able to copulate with several females. Mating is accomplished with the male inserting both his pedipalps into the genital orifice of the female and transferring a previously prepared packet of sperm into her spermathecae. Because of the relative shortness of the male pedipalps in comparison to the sheer length of the legs of both males and females of the species, the spiders have to bring their bodies close together, giving the impression of 'snuggling'. This lasts for about 40 minutes. In rare instances, females may eat the males after copulation.The eggs are deposited by the females 5–6 days after copulation. After laying the eggs, females will bind them into a ball with tiny amounts of silk. They then clutch the resulting egg sacs with their mouthparts and carry them around. Eggs that somehow fall from the loose bundles do not hatch. The females still feed during this period, setting their burdens aside temporarily while they eat, then picking them up again. They also frequently adjust their grip. Instances of females eating some of their own eggs have been recorded. It is assumed that they only consume the infertile ones, as unfertilized eggs occur at high enough rates among "C. lyoni".
5 to 54 spiderlings will eventually hatch from the eggs, 11 to 13 days after egg-laying. Spiderlings do not leave the eggs immediately. They hatch partially, but otherwise remain in the bundle their mothers carry for at least a day. They eventually leave it completely. They remain mostly inactive for 2 to 3 days after hatching until their first molt. Spiderlings which are separated from their mothers mature more rapidly than those which remained nearby. They become adults approximately 80 days after hatching. "C. lyoni" has a lifespan of at least 194 days.
"C. lyoni" are active hunters. Hanging upside down, they will quickly capture prey caught in their irregular cobweb-like webs. If hungry enough, they also actively pursue prey that fly close to their webs. They do not use their fangs when hunting, throwing silk over prey instead and then wrapping them loosely using their hind legs. They will only bite them when they start to feed, which can sometimes be as long as six days after capture. They also actively clean their webs by removing carcasses regularly. When webs become too dirty, they build new ones.
Newly hatched spiderlings are just as active as adults. 2 to 4 days after their first molt, spiderlings can already overpower mosquitoes four times their own size. Spiderlings may share prey they caught themselves or prey caught by their mother. They may also engage in cannibalism by preying on their own siblings.
"C. lyoni", like other cellar spiders, will violently gyrate their bodies in small circles when threatened. They can do this very rapidly, blurring their outline and making them very difficult to see. This behavior earned cellar spiders one of their common names - 'vibrating spiders' - and is presumed to be an antipredator adaptation. If this does not work, they will drop from their webs to the ground, or flee awkwardly with their characteristic long-legged gait.
Habitat
A single male "C. lyoni" is able to copulate with several females. Mating is accomplished with the male inserting both his pedipalps into the genital orifice of the female and transferring a previously prepared packet of sperm into her spermathecae. Because of the relative shortness of the male pedipalps in comparison to the sheer length of the legs of both males and females of the species, the spiders have to bring their bodies close together, giving the impression of 'snuggling'. This lasts for about 40 minutes. In rare instances, females may eat the males after copulation.The eggs are deposited by the females 5–6 days after copulation. After laying the eggs, females will bind them into a ball with tiny amounts of silk. They then clutch the resulting egg sacs with their mouthparts and carry them around. Eggs that somehow fall from the loose bundles do not hatch. The females still feed during this period, setting their burdens aside temporarily while they eat, then picking them up again. They also frequently adjust their grip. Instances of females eating some of their own eggs have been recorded. It is assumed that they only consume the infertile ones, as unfertilized eggs occur at high enough rates among "C. lyoni".
5 to 54 spiderlings will eventually hatch from the eggs, 11 to 13 days after egg-laying. Spiderlings do not leave the eggs immediately. They hatch partially, but otherwise remain in the bundle their mothers carry for at least a day. They eventually leave it completely. They remain mostly inactive for 2 to 3 days after hatching until their first molt. Spiderlings which are separated from their mothers mature more rapidly than those which remained nearby. They become adults approximately 80 days after hatching. "C. lyoni" has a lifespan of at least 194 days.
"C. lyoni" are active hunters. Hanging upside down, they will quickly capture prey caught in their irregular cobweb-like webs. If hungry enough, they also actively pursue prey that fly close to their webs. They do not use their fangs when hunting, throwing silk over prey instead and then wrapping them loosely using their hind legs. They will only bite them when they start to feed, which can sometimes be as long as six days after capture. They also actively clean their webs by removing carcasses regularly. When webs become too dirty, they build new ones.
Newly hatched spiderlings are just as active as adults. 2 to 4 days after their first molt, spiderlings can already overpower mosquitoes four times their own size. Spiderlings may share prey they caught themselves or prey caught by their mother. They may also engage in cannibalism by preying on their own siblings.
"C. lyoni", like other cellar spiders, will violently gyrate their bodies in small circles when threatened. They can do this very rapidly, blurring their outline and making them very difficult to see. This behavior earned cellar spiders one of their common names - 'vibrating spiders' - and is presumed to be an antipredator adaptation. If this does not work, they will drop from their webs to the ground, or flee awkwardly with their characteristic long-legged gait."C. lyoni" are synanthropic, preferring to live inside or near human-made structures. They usually build large irregular webs in corners of rooms, basements, cellars, and beneath ceilings. They are readily transported by human activity, especially as hitchikers in ships. As a result, "C.lyoni" has been introduced to most of the world, including Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America, and some Pacific islands.
Their place of origin is unknown but have been variously posited to be Africa or somewhere in Asia.
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