---
title: "Red-legged Purseweb Spider"
description: "Sphodros rufipes — Insects & spiders. Sphodros rufipes, sometimes called the red legged purseweb spider, is a mygalomorph spider from the southern and eastern United States, though it has been photographed as far north as Minnesota."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/red-legged-purseweb-spider
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Red-legged Purseweb Spider

> Sphodros rufipes — Insects & spiders. Sphodros rufipes, sometimes called the red legged purseweb spider, is a mygalomorph spider from the southern and eastern United States, though it has been photographed as far north as Minnesota.

- Scientific name: *Sphodros rufipes*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 825
- Wikidata: [Q1984229](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1984229)
- iNaturalist taxon: [122955](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/122955)

## Names

- en: Red-legged Purseweb Spider

## Countries with the most observations

US (775)

## Summary

Sphodros rufipes, sometimes called the red legged purseweb spider, is a mygalomorph spider from the southern and eastern United States, though it has been photographed as far north as Minnesota. It has confirmed sightings in Indiana,  Missouri, New Jersey, West Virginia, Tennessee, Delaware, Louisiana, and Tuckernuck Island in Massachusetts. One recent sighting shows that these spiders can also be found in Canada, while another reveals that they have been spotted in Kansas.
The species name rufipes is Latin for 'red foot'.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphodros_rufipes

## Photo

![Red-legged Purseweb Spider](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/red-legged-purseweb-spider/medium.jpg)

Photo: Lyn Roueche · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/201370862

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/red-legged-purseweb-spider?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).