Its modern day distribution includes area from Northern Africa to Central Asia and Sri Lanka, and from the West Indies to Uruguay and Argentina, where it may have been introduced.

[1][2][3] In the UK - where it is the largest native species of spider[4] - it is sometimes known as the cardinal spider, because of the legend that Cardinal Wolsey was terrified by this species at Hampton Court,[5] or, conversely, because he regarded them as lucky and forbade anyone to harm them.

Up close, they are easily differentiated from T. domestica by the lengths of their legs: the front pair is almost as long as species in the genus Eratigena, while the hind pair is unshortened and similar to T. domestica.

The species was first described by Antoine François de Fourcroy in 1785, as Aranea parietina.

[1] He called it "the brown domestic spider" that lived in the corners of rooms.