Sparassidae
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Sparassidae
Huntsman spiders, members of the family Sparassidae (formerly Heteropodidae), are known by this name because of their speed and mode of hunting. They are also called giant crab spiders because of their size and appearance. Larger species sometimes are referred to as wood spiders, because of their preference for woody places (forests, mine shafts, woodpiles, wooden shacks). In southern Africa the genus ''Palystes'' are known as rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders. Commonly, they are confused with baboon spiders from the Mygalomorphae infraorder, which are not closely related. More than a thousand Sparassidae species occur in most warm temperate to tropical regions of the world, including much of Australasia, Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean Basin, and the Americas. Several species of huntsman spider can use an unusual form of locomotion. The wheel spider (''Carparachne aureoflava'') from the Namib uses a cartwheeling motion which gives it its name, while ''Cebrennus rechenbergi ...
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Palystes
''Palystes'' is a genus of huntsman spiders, commonly called rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders, occurring in Africa, India, Australia, and the Pacific. The most common and widespread species is '' P. superciliosus'', found in South Africa, home to 12 species in the genus. The name ''Palystes'' is derived from either the Latin ''palaestes'' or the Greek ''palaistes'', meaning "wrestler". The genus was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1875. Build ''Palystes'' species are large spiders, with a body length of 15–36 mm, and a leg span up to 110 mm. Their top side is covered in tan to dark tan velvety setae (hairs). The underside of their legs is banded in colour, and their legs and abdomens may be interspersed with slightly longer setae. They have a large moustachial stripe below their front eyes, and extending down their fangs. Habits While ''Palystes'' species mostly hunt insects on plants, they commonly enter houses before rain, or during the summer ...
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Giant Huntsman Spider
The giant huntsman spider (''Heteropoda maxima'') is a species of the huntsman spider family ''Sparassidae'' found in Laos. It is considered the world's largest spider by leg span, which can reach up to . Description The colouration is yellowish-brown with several irregularly distributed dark spots on the rear half. The legs have wide dark bands before the first bend. Like all huntsman spiders, the legs of the giant huntsman spider are long compared to the body, and twist forward in a crab-like fashion. Apart from its size, the ''H. maxima'' can be distinguished from other species of ''Heteropoda'' by genital characteristics. On males, the cymbium is at least three times longer than the tegulum. The female is distinguished by a characteristically shaped epigyneal field with two anterior directed bands, and the course of their internal ducts. The giant huntsman spider is the largest member of the family Sparassidae, boasting a leg-span, and body-length. The largest known m ...
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List Of Sparassidae Species
This page lists all described genera and species of the spider family Sparassidae. , the World Spider Catalog accepts 1383 species in 96 genera: * '' † Sparassidae sp.'' Wunderlich, 2008c — Palaeogen Baltic amber A ''Adcatomus'' '' Adcatomus'' Karsch, 1880 - Sparassinae * '' Adcatomus ciudadus'' Karsch, 1880 ( type) — Venezuela, Peru * '' Adcatomus flavovittatus'' (Simon, 1897) — Venezuela ''Anaptomecus'' '' Anaptomecus'' Simon, 1903 - Incertae Sedis * '' Anaptomecus levyi'' Jäger, Rheims & Labarque, 2009 — Colombia * '' Anaptomecus longiventris'' Simon, 1903 ( type) — Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador * '' Anaptomecus paru'' Guala, Labarque & Rheims, 2012 — Colombia, Ecuador * '' Anaptomecus suni'' Guala, Labarque & Rheims, 2012 — Ecuador * '' Anaptomecus temii'' Jäger, Rheims & Labarque, 2009 — Panama * '' Anaptomecus yarigui'' Galvis & Rheims, 2018 — Colombia ''Anchonastus'' '' Anchonastus'' Simon, 1898 - Palystinae * '' Anchonastus caudatus'' Simon, 1898 ( ...
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Palystes Castaneus
''Palystes castaneus'' is a species of huntsman spider found in parts of South Africa. It is common from Cape Town to Heidelberg, Western Cape, especially in forested areas. In scrub outside forested areas, it is replaced by ''Palystes superciliosus''. It occurs mainly on plants, where it hunts insects. It has a body length of 17–22 mm. ''P. castaneus'' is the type species for the genus ''Palystes'', and was first described by Pierre André Latreille in 1819. Spiders in the genus ''Palystes'' are commonly called rain spiders, or lizard-eating spiders. ''P. castaneus'' often appears in the home just before the onset of rain, where they hunt geckos (usually '' Afrogecko porphyreus''). Males are regularly seen from August to December, probably looking for females. After mating in the early summer, the female constructs a round egg sac about 60–100 mm in size made of silk, with twigs and leaves woven into it. These egg sacs are commonly seen from about November to Apri ...
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Neosparassus
''Neosparassus'' is a genus of huntsman spiders first described by Henry Roughton Hogg Henry Roughton Hogg (9 February 1846 – 30 November 1923) was a British amateur arachnologist. Biography Born in Stockwell, Surrey, he attended Uppingham School from 1859-1862, and later studied at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he obtained ... in 1903. Members of this genus most closely resemble those of '' Heteropoda'', except that the cephalothorax is high, peaking between the midpoint and the eyes, before sloping toward the back. This angle causes the front of these spiders to appear more prominent than it actually is. Species it contains the following species: *'' Neosparassus calligaster'' (Thorell, 1870) — Australia *'' Neosparassus conspicuus'' (L. Koch, 1875) — Queensland *'' Neosparassus diana'' (L. Koch, 1875) — Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania *'' Neosparassus festivus'' (L. Koch, 1875) — New South Wales *'' Neosparassus grapsus'' (Walckenaer, 1837) — Austra ...
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Cebrennus Rechenbergi
''Cebrennus rechenbergi'', also known as the Moroccan flic-flac spider and cartwheeling spider, is a species of huntsman spider indigenous to the sand dunes of the Erg Chebbi desert in Morocco. If provoked or threatened it can escape by doubling its normal walking speed using forward or backward flips similar to acrobatic flic-flac movements used by gymnasts. ''C. rechenbergi'' is the only spider known to use this unique form of rolling locomotion. The discovery of the Moroccan flic-flac spider has influenced biomimetic robot research, resulting in the development of an experimental robot based on the spider's motion.King, R.S. (2013). ''BiLBIQ: A Biologically Inspired Robot with Walking and Rolling Locomotion''. Biosystems and Biorobotics. 2. Springer, Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg. Etymology The spider is named after its discoverer, Ingo Rechenberg, bionics professor at the Technische Universität Berlin. Rechenberg may have first encountered the spider on a trip to Mor ...
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Wheel Spider
The wheel spider or golden wheel spider (''Carparachne aureoflava''), is a huntsman spider native to the Namib Desert of Southern Africa. This spider should not be confused with ''Leucorchestris arenicola'', a spider sharing the same common name as well as the same locale. The spider escapes parasitic Spider wasp, pompilid wasps by flipping onto its side and rotating locomotion in living systems, cartwheeling down sand dunes at speeds of up to 44 turns per second. Characteristics Wheel spiders are up to 20 mm in size, with males and females the same size. The wheel spider is a nocturnal, free-ranging hunter, coming out at night to prey on insects and other small invertebrates. Its bite is mildly venomous, but the spider is not known to be harmful to humans. The wheel spider does not produce a web. Its principal line of defence against predation is to bury itself in a silk-lined burrow extending 40–50 cm deep. During the process of digging its burrow, the spider can s ...
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Philipp Bertkau
Philipp Bertkau (11 January 1849 – 22 October 1894) was a German zoologist born in Cologne. He studied natural sciences at the University of Bonn, where in 1872 he earned his doctorate. In 1873 he became an assistant at the botanical institute in Munich, and during the following spring was an assistant at the zoological institute at Bonn. In 1882 he was appointed professor at the Agricultural Academy of Poppelsdorf, and in 1890 became curator at the Institute of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy. Bertkau is remembered for his work involving the anatomy and physiology of spiders, research on sense of smell in butterflies, and anatomical studies of hermaphroditic arthropods. At Bonn he was secretary of ''Bonner Gesellschaft für Naturgeschichte'' (Bonn Society of Natural History). He is the taxonomic authority of the families Anyphaenidae, Hahniidae, Sparassidae and Zoropsidae, and of the genera ''Ancylometes'', ''Chalcoscirtus'', ''Comaroma'' and ''Diplocephalus''. Selected wor ...
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Tarantula
Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 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 Arachnida, ...
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Anatomical Terms Of Location
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provides a definition of what is at the front ("anterior"), behind ("posterior") and so on. As part of defining and describing terms, the body is described through the use of anatomical planes and anatomical axes. The meaning of terms that are used can change depending on whether an organism is bipedal or quadrupedal. Additionally, for some animals such as invertebrates, some terms may not have any meaning at all; for example, an animal that is radially symmetrical will have no anterior surface, but can still have a description that a part is close to the middle ("proximal") or further from the middle ("distal"). International organisations have determined vocabularies that are often used as standard vocabularies for subdisciplines of anatom ...
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Aposematism
Aposematism is the advertising by an animal to potential predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defences which make the prey difficult to kill and eat, such as toxicity, venom, foul taste or smell, sharp spines, or aggressive nature. These advertising signals may take the form of conspicuous coloration, sounds, odours, or other perceivable characteristics. Aposematic signals are beneficial for both predator and prey, since both avoid potential harm. The term was coined in 1877 by Edward Bagnall Poulton for Alfred Russel Wallace's concept of warning coloration. Aposematism is exploited in Müllerian mimicry, where species with strong defences evolve to resemble one another. By mimicking similarly coloured species, the warning signal to predators is shared, causing them to learn more quickly at less of a cost. A genuine aposematic signal that a species actually possesses chemical or physical defences is not the only way to ...
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Crab
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the world's oceans, in freshwater, and on land, are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, and have a single pair of pincers. They first appeared during the Jurassic Period. Description Crabs are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, composed primarily of highly mineralized chitin, and armed with a pair of chelae (claws). Crabs vary in size from the pea crab, a few millimeters wide, to the Japanese spider crab, with a leg span up to . Several other groups of crustaceans with similar appearances – such as king crabs and porcelain crabs – are not true crabs, but have evolved features similar to true crabs through a process known as carcinisation. Environment Crabs are found in all of the world's oceans, as well as in fresh w ...
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