Archaeidae, also known as assassin spiders and pelican spiders, is a
spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
family with about ninety described species in five genera.
It contains small spiders, ranging from long, that prey exclusively on other spiders.
They are unusual in that they have "necks", ranging from long and slender to short and fat. The name "pelican spider" refers to these elongated
jaws
Jaws or Jaw may refer to:
Anatomy
* Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth
** Mandible, the lower jaw
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker''
* ...
and necks used to catch their prey. Living species of Archaeidae occur in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
,
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
and
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 ...
, with the sister family
Mecysmaucheniidae occurring in southern South America and New Zealand.
Assassin spiders were first known from 40 million year old
amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In ...
fossils which were found in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
in the 1840s, and were not known to have living varieties until 1881, when the first living assassin spider was found in Madagascar.
The fossil record of this family was first identified from
Baltic amber
The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than 1 ...
dating to the
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
, although many taxa from these deposits have been reassigned to Mecysmaucheniidae,
Malkaridae
Malkaridae is a small family of araneomorph spiders first described by Valerie Todd Davies in 1980. In 2017, the family Pararchaeidae was brought into synonymy with Malkaridae.
Genera
, the World Spider Catalog accepts the following genera:
*'' ...
, and
Anapidae
Anapidae is a family of rather small spiders with 231 described species in 58 genera. It includes the former family Micropholcommatidae as the subfamily Micropholcommatinae, and the former family Holarchaeidae. Most species are less than long.
...
. Currently valid Baltic species include ''
Archaea levigata
''Archaea'' is an extinct genus of spiders in the family Archaeidae. , four species are placed (or possibly placed) in the genus. All have been found preserved in amber, either from the Baltic or Bitterfeld, Germany. First described in 1854, ''A ...
'' and ''
Archaea paradoxa
''Archaea'' is an extinct genus of spider
Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of ...
''. In 2003, ''
Afarchaea grimaldii'' was described from
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
Burmese amber
Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. The ...
aged between 88-95 million years, extending the record of this group considerably, the oldest fossil known of the group is ''Patarchaea muralis'' from the
Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 163.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively rare, but geological formations co ...
(
Oxfordian/
Callovian
In the geologic timescale, the Callovian is an age and stage in the Middle Jurassic, lasting between 166.1 ± 4.0 Ma (million years ago) and 163.5 ± 4.0 Ma. It is the last stage of the Middle Jurassic, following the Bathonian and preceding the ...
) of
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
Taxonomy
The family Archaeidae was erected in 1854 by
C. L. Koch and Berendt
[ for one genus, '']Archaea
Archaea ( ; singular archaeon ) is a domain of single-celled organisms. These microorganisms lack cell nuclei and are therefore prokaryotes. Archaea were initially classified as bacteria, receiving the name archaebacteria (in the Archaebac ...
'', initially with three extinct species,[ all found in ]amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In ...
from the Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
or Bitterfeld
Bitterfeld () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2007 it has been part of the town of Bitterfeld-Wolfen. It is situated approximately 25 km south of Dessau, and 30 km northeast of Halle ( ...
in Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...
, Germany. No living species are placed in this genus.
Extant 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:
* '' Afrarchaea'' Forster & Platnick, 1984 — South Africa
* '' Austrarchaea'' Forster & Platnick, 1984 — Australia
* '' Eriauchenus'' O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1881 — Madagascar
* '' Madagascarchaea'' Wood & Scharff, 2018 — Madagascar
* '' Zephyrarchaea'' Rix & Harvey, 2012 — Australia
Fossils
Fossils found in amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In ...
, particularly from the Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
and Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
(Burma), have been assigned to a number of extant and extinct genera placed in the family Archaeidae.
The extinct species '' Burmesarchaea grimaldii'' (syn. ''Afrarchaea grimaldii'') was found in Burmese amber dated to 88–95 Mya. '' Jurarchaea zherikhini'' Eskov, 1987 was previously considered a member of this family, but it is more likely a holarchaeid or a pararchaeid.
* †''Archaea
Archaea ( ; singular archaeon ) is a domain of single-celled organisms. These microorganisms lack cell nuclei and are therefore prokaryotes. Archaea were initially classified as bacteria, receiving the name archaebacteria (in the Archaebac ...
'' Koch and Berendt 1854 Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
, Bitterfeld amber
The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than ...
, Eocene
* †'' Archaemecys'' Saupe and Selden 2009 Charentese amber, France, Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...
* †'' Baltarchaea'' Eskov 1992 Baltic amber, Eocene
* †'' Burmesarchaea'' Wunderlich 2008 Burmese amber
Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. The ...
, Myanmar, Cenomanian
* †'' Eoarchaea'' Forster and Platnick 1984 Baltic, Bitterfeld amber, Eocene
* †'' Eomysmauchenius'' Wunderlich 2008 Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian
* †'' Lacunauchenius'' Wunderlich 2008 Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian
* †'' Myrmecarchaea'' Wunderlich 2004 Baltic amber, Eocene
* †'' Patarchaea'' Selden et al. 2008 Daohugou
The Haifanggou Formation (), also known as the Jiulongshan Formation (), is a fossil-bearing rock deposit located near Daohugou () village of Ningcheng County, in Inner Mongolia, northeastern China.
The formation consists of coarse conglomerates ...
, China, Callovian
In the geologic timescale, the Callovian is an age and stage in the Middle Jurassic, lasting between 166.1 ± 4.0 Ma (million years ago) and 163.5 ± 4.0 Ma. It is the last stage of the Middle Jurassic, following the Bathonian and preceding the ...
* †'' Planarchaea'' Wunderlich 2015 Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian
* †'' Saxonarchaea'' Wunderlich 2004 Baltic, Bitterfeld amber, Eocene
Phylogeny
A 2012 Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of 15 Archaeidae species, using combined molecular and morphological data, produced the cladogram shown below. Species representing modern genera found in Africa and Madagascar (''Afrarchaea'' and ''Eriauchenius'') were not resolved into monophyletic groups; ''Zephyrarchaea'' had not then been split off from ''Austrarchaea''. The species found in European amber formed a clade, whereas ''Burmesarchaea grimaldii'', from Burmese amber, appeared to be basal to modern genera.
See also
* List of Archaeidae species
This page lists all described species of the spider family Archaeidae accepted by the World Spider Catalog :
A ''Afrarchaea''
'' Afrarchaea'' Forster & Platnick, 1984
* '' A. ansieae'' Lotz, 2015 — South Africa
* '' A. bergae'' Lotz, 1996 — ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5892
Araneomorphae families