Wafer trapdoor spider

The wafer trapdoor spiders, family Cyrtaucheniidae,[3] are a widespread family of spiders that lack the thorn-like spines on tarsi and metatarsi I and II (the two outermost leg segments) found in true trapdoor spiders (Ctenizidae).

Wafer trapdoor spider
Temporal range: Neogene–present
F. lucasae, female
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Clade: Avicularioidea
Family: Cyrtaucheniidae
Simon, 1892[1]
Diversity[2]
11 genera, 107 species

Etymology

The name derives from the Greek κυρταύχην, kyrtaúchēn, which in turn is derived from Greek κυρτός kyrtós, meaning "curved", "arched" or "bent", αὐχήν auchen, meaning the cervix or neck, and the suffix -idae, which designates belonging to a family.

Biology

Many, but not all, make wafer-like doors to their burrows, while others build the cork-like doors found commonly in the true trapdoor spiders. The biology of nearly all the species is poorly known.

The monotypic Angka hexops has only six eyes, with the posterior median eyes missing. It is up to 15 mm long in both sexes.[4]

Distribution

The family is well represented South America, and Africa. A currently undescribed genus in the western United States may hold an altitude record for the family, being found up to over 11,000 feet (3,300 meters). The genus Anemesia is found only in Central Asia, and Cyrtauchenius reaches from Algeria north to Italy, with one species found in the USA. Angka is endemic to the cloud forest of Doi Inthanon, Thailand.

Genera
Main article: List of Cyrtaucheniidae species

The former subfamily Euctenizinae from the US and Mexico were promoted to family rank as Euctenizidae in 2012, and are now considered more closely related to Idiopidae.[5] Further changes to the circumscription of the family were made in 2020. As of July 2020, the World Spider Catalog accepted the following genera:[5]

Genera formerly placed in the family include:

See also

Footnotes
  1. "Family: Cyrtaucheniidae Simon, 1889", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 2015-11-11
  2. "Currently valid spider genera and species", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 2015-11-11
  3. Raven, R.J. 1985. The spider Infraorder Mygalomorphae (Araneae): cladistics and systematics. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 182: 1-180.
  4. Murphy, Frances & Murphy, John (2000). An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Nature Society.
  5. "Family: Cyrtaucheniidae Simon, 1889". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2020-07-15.

References
  • Raven, Robert J. (1985). "The spider Infraorder Mygalomorphae (Araneae): cladistics and systematics". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 182: 1-180.
  • Platnick, Norman I. (2008). "The world spider catalog, version 8.5". American Museum of Natural History.
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