# Sowbug killer (*Dysdera crocata*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/sowbug-killer  
Data as of: 2026-11-14

The sowbug killer (Dysdera crocata) is a species in the family Dysderidae, order Araneae. Recorded adults reach 1.5 cm in length. Source checklists list it for 6 countries, including Australia, Chile and Germany.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | 9 mm – 1.5 cm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest, human_modified, rocky, wetland |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | 6 countries |

## Introduced range

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists it as introduced in 8 countries, and flagged as invasive in 1 of them. Introduced: Australia, Austria, Canada, Canary Islands, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom, United States. Invasive: Canary Islands. Source: https://griis.org/ (CC BY 4.0).

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Arthropoda
- class: Arachnida
- order: Araneae
- family: Dysderidae
- genus: Dysdera
- species: *Dysdera crocata* C. L. Koch, 1838

Synonyms: *Dysdera australiensis*, *Dysdera caerulescens*, *Dysdera cretica*, *Dysdera crocota*, *Dysdera gracilis*, *Dysdera inaequuscapillata*, *Dysdera interrita*, *Dysdera magna*, *Dysdera maurusia*, *Dysdera menozzii*, *Dysdera palmensis*, *Dysdera rubicunda*, *Dysdera sternalis*, *Dysdera wollastoni*

## Countries on record

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

Australia, Chile, Germany, Greece, Libya, Uruguay

## Common questions

### How big is the sowbug killer?

An adult sowbug killer measures 9 mm – 1.5 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

### Where does the sowbug killer live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the sowbug killer for 6 countries, including Australia, Chile, Germany, Greece and Libya. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

### Is the sowbug killer an invasive species?

In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the sowbug killer as invasive in 1 country: Canary Islands. It lists it as introduced in 8 in all.

### What kind of animal is the sowbug killer?

The sowbug killer (Dysdera crocata) belongs to the family Dysderidae in the order Araneae.

## Sources

- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS)](https://griis.org/), CC BY 4.0, 2026-11-13. Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group.
- [TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844), CC BY 4.0, 2.0. Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844

Cite as: Sowbug killer (Dysdera crocata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/sowbug-killer