Actinopodidae ( Mouse spiders) is a family of

mygalomorph The Mygalomorphae, or mygalomorphs, are an infraorder of spiders, and comprise one of three major groups of living spiders with over 3000 species, found on all continents except Antarctica. Many members are known as trapdoor spiders due to the ...

orb weaver spiders found in mainland

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

usually in open forest. Species are most common in

Queensland, Australia ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. It includes mouse spiders, whose bites, though rare, are considered medically significant and potentially dangerous.

Description

Actinopodidae has wider vision then most other Australian mygalomorphs and have a wide front to there

carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...

. Mouse spiders are stout black with species size varying from 10 mm-35 mm in length. Species have distinctively bulbous heads and jaw regions. Mouse spiders are oftentimes confused with

funnel-web spider Funnel-web spider refers to many different species of spider, particularly those that spin a web in the shape of a funnel: * spiders in the family Agelenidae, including ** '' Hololena curta'' * funnel-web tarantulas (suborder Mygalomorphae): ** ...

s. Depending on the species, the abdomen is black or dark blue with a light grey to white patch top. Legs are dark and may appear thin and the head is shiny black. Female of the family are stockier and larger.

Burrow

Mouse spiders live in soil covered burrows with a hinged top. Burrows can extent to a depth of 30 cm (12 inches). The purpose of the burrow is for refuge from predators, temperature control and

parasites Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of lif ...

. Male spiders will wander away from the burrow in search for female spiders for mating while females stay in the burrow for most of their life.

Diet

Species of Actinopodidae are ambush hunters that lie in their burrow lid at night preying on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s that are within catching range of actinopodidae.

Genera

, the

World Spider Catalog The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...

accepts the following genera: *''

Actinopus ''Actinopus'' is a genus of mygalomorph spiders in the family Actinopodidae. It was first described by Josef Anton Maximilian Perty in 1833 from the type species '' Actinopus tarsalis'' found in Brazil. The name is derived from Greek ''actin-'' ...

'' Perty, 1833 — South America *''

Missulena ''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 Aust ...

'' Walckenaer, 1805 — Australia, Chile *''

Plesiolena ''Plesiolena'' is a small genus of South American mygalomorph spiders in the family Actinopodidae. It was first described by Pablo A. Goloboff and Norman I. Platnick in 1987, and it has only been found in Chile. The name is a combination of "ples ...

'' Goloboff & Platnick, 1987 — Chile

References

External links