|
Mygalomorphae
The Mygalomorphae, or mygalomorphs, are an infraorder of spiders, and comprise one of three major groups of living spiders with over 3,000 species, found on all continents except Antarctica. Many members are known as trapdoor spiders due to their creation of trapdoors over their burrows. Other prominent groups include Australian funnel web spiders and tarantulas, with the latter accounting for around one third of all mygalomorphs. Description This group of spiders comprises mostly heavy-bodied, stout-legged spiders including tarantulas, Australian funnel-web spiders, mouse spiders, and various families of spiders commonly called trapdoor spiders. Like the " primitive" suborder of spiders Mesothelae, they have two pairs of book lungs, and downward-pointing chelicerae. Because of this, the two groups were once believed to be closely related. Later it was realised that the common ancestors of all spiders had these features (a state known as symplesiomorphy). Following the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spider
Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all Order (biology), orders of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every land habitat. , 53,034 spider species in 136 Family (biology), families have been recorded by Taxonomy (biology), taxonomists. However, there has been debate among scientists about how families should be classified, with over 20 different classifications proposed since 1900. Anatomy, Anatomically, spiders (as with all arachnids) differ from other arthropods in that the usual body segmentation (biology), segments are fused into two Tagma (biology), tagmata, the cephalothorax or prosoma, and the opisthosoma, or abdomen, and joined by a small, cylindr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Funnel-web Spider
Atracidae is a family of mygalomorph spiders, commonly known as Australian funnel-web spiders or atracids. It has been included as a subfamily of the Hexathelidae, but is now recognised as a separate family. All members of the family are native to Australia. Atracidae consists of three genera: '' Atrax'', '' Hadronyche'', and '' Illawarra'', comprising 35 species. Some members of the family produce venom that is dangerous to humans, and bites by spiders of six of the species have caused severe injuries to victims. The bites of the Sydney funnel-web spider (''Atrax robustus'') and northern tree-dwelling funnel-web spider ('' Hadronyche formidabilis'') are potentially deadly, but no fatalities have occurred since the introduction of modern first-aid techniques and antivenom. Description Spiders in the family Atracidae are medium to large in size, with body lengths ranging from , with one exceptional specimen reaching . They have a hairless carapace covering the front part of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mouse Spider
''Missulena'' is a genus of mygalomorph spiders in the family Actinopodidae. It was first described by Charles Walckenaer in 1805, and is a senior synonym of ''Eriodon''. ''M. tussulena'' is found in Chile, but the rest are indigenous to Australia. They are sometimes referred to as "mouse spiders" from the now-disproven belief that they dig deep burrows similar to those of mice. ''Scotophaeus blackwalli'' is also called a "mouse spider", but it is smaller and not closely related. Description These spiders are medium to large in size, ranging from . They have a glossy carapace and high, broad heads with eyes spread out across the front of the head, and short spinnerets in the rear of the abdomen. They also exhibit sexual dimorphism. Females are entirely black, while male colouration is specific to each species. For instance, male eastern mouse spiders (''M. bradleyi'') have a bluish patch, while male red-headed mouse spiders (''M. occatoria'') are brownish or blue-bla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tarantula
Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,100 species have been identified, with 166 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although many other members of the same infraorder ( Mygalomorphae) are commonly referred to as "tarantulas" or "false tarantulas". Some of the more common species have become popular in the exotic pet trade. Many New World species kept as pets have setae known as urticating hairs that can cause irritation to the skin, and in extreme cases, cause damage to the eyes. Overview Like all arthropods, the tarantula is an invertebrate that relies on an exoskeleton for muscular support.Pomeroy, R. (2014, February 4). Pub. Real Clear Science, "Spiders, and Their Amazing Hydraulic Legs and Genitalia". Retrieved October 13, 2019, from https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2013/02/spiders-their-amazing-hydraulic-legs-and-genitals.html. Like other Arachni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesothelae
The Mesothelae are a suborder of spiders (order Araneae). , two extant families were accepted by the World Spider Catalog, Liphistiidae and Heptathelidae. Alternatively, the Heptathelidae can be treated as a subfamily of a more broadly circumscribed Liphistiidae. There are also a number of extinct families. This suborder is thought to form the sister group to all other living spiders, and to retain ancestral characters, such as a segmented abdomen with spinnerets in the middle and two pairs of book lungs. Extant members of the Mesothelae are medium to large spiders with eight eyes grouped on a tubercle. They are found only in China, Japan, and southeast Asia. The oldest known Mesothelae spiders are from the Carboniferous, over 300 million years ago. Taxonomy Reginald Innes Pocock in 1892 was the first to realize that the exceptional characters of the genus '' Liphistius'' (the only member of the group then known) meant that it was more different from the remaining spiders th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avicularioidea
Avicularioidea is a clade of mygalomorph spiders, one of the two main clades into which mygalomorphs are divided (the other being the Atypoidea). It has been treated at the rank of superfamily. Taxonomy The division of the Mygalomorphae into two clades, Atypoidea and Avicularioidea, has been established in many studies. Avicularioidea has been treated as a superfamily (at one time including all mygalomorph spiders), although other authors have placed superfamilies, such as Theraphosoidea, within Avicularioidea. The name is based on the family name "Aviculariidae", a junior synonym of Theraphosidae, ultimately deriving from the genus '' Avicularia''. The Atypoidea retain some vestiges of abdominal segmentation in the form of dorsal tergites; the Avicularioidea lack these. Relationships within the Avicularioidea are not settled . Some established families have been shown not to be monophyletic. In 2018, the family Hexathelidae was split up, and three new families created within ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opisthothelae
Opisthothelae is a suborder of spiders within the order Araneae, containing Mygalomorphae and Araneomorphae, but excluding Mesothelae. The Opisthothelae are sometimes presented as an unranked clade and sometimes as a suborder of Araneae. In the latter case, Mygalomorphae and Araneomorphae are treated as infraorders. The creation of this taxon has been justified by the need to distinguish these spiders from the Mesothelae, which display more primitive characteristics. The characteristics that distinguish between the Mesothelae and Opisthothelae are: * Mesothelae have a segmented abdomen with tergite plates, whereas Opisthothelae have fused abdominal segments and lack tergite plates. * The almost total absence of ganglia in the abdomen of Opisthothelae. * The almost median position of the spinnerets in the Mesothelae compared with the hindmost position of those of the Opistothelae. Description Containing all extant species of spider, except for the more primitive Mesothelae, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Missulena Bradleyi
''Missulena bradleyi,'' also known as the eastern mouse spider, is a species of spider belonging to the family Actinopodidae. The spider is endemic to the eastern coast of Australia. History William Joseph Rainbow described the eastern mouse spider in 1914 from a specimen collected in North Sydney by Henry Houghton Burton Bradley (1845–1918), president of the board of trustees of the Australian Museum at the time. Describing the "beautiful and strikingly marked" specimen as a "decided novelty", Rainbow named it in honour of its collector, whom he stated was the first collector of Australian spiders. Description Eastern mouse spiders are often mistaken for Australian funnel-web spiders. The females are large and very strong, with powerful chelicerae.Missulena bradleyi Rainbow, 1914 Bradley's Mouse Spider http://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=2587 Their fangs often cross over slightly, while those of Australian funnel-web spiders remain parallel, and the latter often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Araneomorphae
The Araneomorphae (also called the Labidognatha or "true spiders") are an infraorder of spiders. They are distinguishable by chelicerae (fangs) that point diagonally forward and cross in a pinching action, in contrast to the Mygalomorphae (tarantulas and their close kin), where they point straight down. Araneomorphs comprise the vast majority (about 93%) of living spiders. Distinguishing characteristics Most spider species are Araneomorphae, which have chelicerae, fangs that face towards each other, increasing the orientations that they can employ during prey-capture. They have fewer book lungs (when present) – usually one pair – and the females typically live one year. The Mygalomorphae have chelicerae, fangs that face towards the ground, and which are parallel to the long axis of the spider's body, thus they have only one orientation they can employ during prey capture. They have two pairs of book lungs, and the females often live many years. Image:Cheiracanthium pun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atypoidea
Atypoidea is a clade of mygalomorph spiders, one of the two main groups into which the mygalomorphs are divided (the other being Avicularioidea). It has been treated at the rank of superfamily. It contains five families of spiders: * Atypidae Atypidae, also known as atypical tarantulas or purseweb spiders, is a spider family containing only three genus, genera. They are accomplished ambush predators that spend most of their time in a sock-like, silken retreat on the ground from where t ... * Antrodiaetidae * Mecicobothriidae * Hexurellidae * Megahexuridae Spiders from atypoid families live in burrows and use silk to build many different types of burrow entrance constructs, including purse webs, trapdoors, funnel-and-sheet webs, turrets and silken collars. Phylogeny The following cladogram illustrates the relationships between atypoid mygalomorph spiders based on the molecular phylogenetic analyses of Hedin et al (2019). References ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atrax
''Atrax'' is a genus of venomous Australian funnel web spiders that was first described by O. Pickard-Cambridge in 1877 from the type species '' Atrax robustus''. It contains five species. Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it was moved to the Hexathelidae in 1980, then to the Australian funnel-web spiders in 2018. Description They are medium to large spiders for their family, ranging from 1.5 to 4.5 cm. As most in the Mygalomorphae infraorder, they have robust bodies, with a glossy dark colouration in their carapace and legs, and a grey opisthosoma. They also have the same long life, ranging from 4 to 20 years. They are usually found in burrows with little silk lining, under rocks or logs, with their aptly named funnel-like webs. They are found in the coasts and highlands of southeastern Australia. Identification They can be identified from others of the same family by the large coniform apophysis on the male tibia, and from the Hadronyche by the lowe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
