What is the world's smallest spider?

Question

What is the world's smallest spider?

Question #103640. Asked by morge22.
Last updated Aug 09 2021.

zbeckabee

Answer has 7 votes

Currently Best Answer

zbeckabee

Moderator
19 year member
11752 replies avatar

Answer has 7 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.

The world's smallest spider is the Samoan moss spider:

Samoan moss spider Patu marplesi, 0.1 inch

It's less than 0.017 of an inch from the tip of one leg to the tip of another leg.

https://second.wiki/wiki/patu_marplesi

Response last updated by CmdrK on Aug 09 2021.
Mar 08 2009, 11:10 AM

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Answer 1

The smallest spider known today is the female Anapistula caecula her counterpart the male may really be the smallest but no one has ever seen him yet. She can be found on the Ivory Coast in West Africa. She only measures to be 0.46 mm or 0.018 inches.

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/smallest-spider/?fb_comment_id=652554088203316_761224827336241

Answer 2

ozfei

Answer has 6 votes

ozfei

19 year member
112 replies avatar

Answer has 6 votes.

I found this information:
The smallest fully-grown spider in the world is the male of the species Patu digua (which hails from Borneo), which has a body length of just .37mm. That's smaller than the head of a pin!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patu_digua

Response last updated by CmdrK on Aug 09 2021.
Mar 08 2009, 2:49 AM

Answer 3

morge22
Answer has 5 votes

morge22

Answer has 5 votes.

The smallest male spider known to man is the Patu digua from Columbia, South America. He is only around 0.37 mm or 0.015 inches.

https://www.wired.com/2009/11/spiders-gallery/

Response last updated by CmdrK on Aug 09 2021.
Mar 08 2009, 3:41 AM

Answer 4

davejacobs
Answer has 3 votes

davejacobs
22 year member
956 replies

Answer has 3 votes.

There seem to be some pretty unreliable sites concerning Patu digua, but most say it is found in Columbia.
I can't think where that Borneo habitat came from.

https://www.mindat.org/taxon-2178497.html

Response last updated by CmdrK on Aug 09 2021.
Mar 08 2009, 10:10 AM

Answer 5

Okay this is getting confusing. The site I found says the Samoan moss spider too:

"World's smallest spider = an orbweb from Samoa (body 0.43 mm long, about the size of a pinhead)."

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-genius-of-pinheads-when-little-brains-rule/

But at 0.43 mm that is bigger than the Patu digua the other guys found so who knows?