Cobweb Spiders vs common bottlenose dolphin

Parasteatoda tepidariorum compared with Tursiops truncatus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cobweb Spiders	common bottlenose dolphin
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Arachnida (Arachnids)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Araneae (Araneae)	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)
Family	Theridiidae	Delphinidae (Oceanic Dolphins)
Genus	Parasteatoda	Tursiops (Bottlenose Dolphins)
Species	Parasteatoda tepidariorum	Tursiops truncatus

Evolutionary Relationship

Cobweb Spiders and common bottlenose dolphin share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Cobweb Spiders

LC — Least Concern

common bottlenose dolphin

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~600.0K

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cobweb Spiders	common bottlenose dolphin
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	45 years
Average Length	—	3.0 m
Average Weight	—	300.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cobweb Spiders

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial habitats from forests to deserts.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Taiwan), Europe (7 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and South America (Colombia).

common bottlenose dolphin

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 12 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (6 countries), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

Cobweb Spiders

The common house spider (Parasteatoda tepidariorum) is one of the most cosmopolitan of all spider species, having followed human civilization to virtually every inhabited corner of the globe. A member of the family Theridiidae, this small to medium-sized spider—females reaching 5–8 millimeters, males somewhat smaller—constructs the characteristic messy, three-dimensional cobwebs in sheltered corners of buildings, under eaves, in cellars, and in other human-modified structures worldwide. Originally native to North and South America, the species has spread through commerce and human transport to Europe, Asia, Africa, and beyond, where it thrives in the stable temperature and prey-rich conditions provided by human habitation. The web design is deceptively effective: irregular sticky threads radiate in all directions from a silk retreat, ensnaring flies, mosquitoes, ants, and other arthropods that blunder into the structure. Females are long-lived—surviving several years—and produce multiple egg sacs containing hundreds of eggs during a lifetime, contributing to the species' population resilience. Parasteatoda tepidariorum has become an important laboratory model organism for arachnid developmental biology, with its genome sequenced to facilitate studies of spider gene expression, venom evolution, and silk production. It is broadly classified as Least Concern given its cosmopolitan distribution and remarkable adaptation to anthropogenic environments.

common bottlenose dolphin

The most studied and recognized dolphin species, bottlenose dolphins inhabit warm and temperate oceans worldwide, from coastal shallows to the open sea. Highly intelligent with large brains relative to body size, they demonstrate self-recognition, complex communication, and social learning. They live in fluid fission-fusion societies and cooperate to herd fish. A keystone indicator species for marine ecosystem health.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 7 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇹🇼 Taiwan