Bug FAQTooth Cave spider
Tayshaneta myopica · Order: Araneae · Family: Leptonetidae
The Tooth Cave spider is a very small spider, about 1.6 mm long, with legs that can be longer than its body, the longest reaching roughly 4.3 mm and the shortest about 2.9 mm. It is generally whitish with some yellowish areas and has six eyes, four in front and two behind, that lack dark pigment. This species is endemic to limestone (karst) caves near Austin, Texas, in the Edwards Plateau region of Central Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The spider is mostly whitish with some yellowish parts.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The body length is about 1.6 mm. The first leg is the longest at roughly 4.3 mm, while the third leg is the shortest at about 2.9 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It lives in limestone caves near Austin, Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
These caves are part of the Edwards Plateau karst region of Central Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 2 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Kansas.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: endemic in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
Questions people ask
How big is the Tooth Cave spider?
Its body is about 1.6 mm long, and its legs range from roughly 2.9 mm to 4.3 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What does the Tooth Cave spider look like?
It is generally whitish with some yellowish areas and has six eyes, four in front and two behind, that lack dark pigment.
Source: Wikipedia
Where does the Tooth Cave spider live?
It lives in limestone caves near Austin, Texas, in the Edwards Plateau karst region.
Source: Wikipedia
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tooth_Cave_spider
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-29 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-29.