''Acutipetala'' is a small

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of southeast Asian funnel weavers native to the evergreen forests of northern

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. They are medium-sized spiders, to long, and are distinguished by the distinctive appearance of several genital structures, including the

embolus An embolus (; plural emboli; from the Greek ἔμβολος "wedge", "plug") is an unattached mass that travels through the bloodstream and is capable of creating blockages. When an embolus occludes a blood vessel, it is called an embolism or emb ...

and the median apophysis of the male

pedipalp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the second pair of appendages of chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicerae ("jaws") an ...

. The eyes are in two rows, both of which are strongly curved forward. The genus was first described by P. Dankittipakul and Z. S. Zhang in 2008, and it contains only two species: '' A. donglini'' and '' A. octoginta''. The name is a combination of the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

" acutus", meaning "sharp", and the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

" petalon" (), in reference to the sharp,

flower petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usually ...

shape of the medial apophysis of the male pedipalp.

References

Agelenidae genera Arthropods of Thailand Endemic fauna of Thailand Spiders of Asia {{Agelenidae-stub

See also

References