Avicularioidea is a clade 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 t ...

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 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 m ...

, ultimately deriving from the genus ''

Avicularia ''Avicularia'' is a genus of the family Theraphosidae containing various species of arboreal tarantulas. The genus is native to Panama, the Caribbean and tropical South America. Each species in the genus has very distinguishable pink foot pads. ...

''. The Atypoidea retain some vestiges of abdominal segmentation in the form of dorsal

tergite A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; plural ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The anterior edge is called the 'base' and posterior edge is called the 'apex' or 'mar ...

s; 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 Hexathelidae is a family of mygalomorph spiders. It is one of a number of families and genera of spiders known as funnel-web spiders. In 2018, the family was substantially reduced in size by genera being moved to three separate families: Atracid ...

was split up, and three new families created within the Avicularioidea: Atracidae,

Macrothelidae ''Macrothele'' is a genus of mygalomorph spiders in the family Macrothelidae, and was first described by A. Ausserer in 1871. It is the only genus in the family Macrothelidae, and most species occur in Asia, from India to Japan, and Java, with ...

, and Porrhothelidae. Further changes are possible in future.

Families

The families included in the Avicularoidea are: * Actinopodidae * Atracidae – Australian funnel-web spiders * Barychelidae – brushed trapdoor spiders * Ctenizidae * Cyrtaucheniidae – wafer trapdoor spiders * Dipluridae – curtain-web spiders *

Euctenizidae The Euctenizidae (formerly Cyrtaucheniidae subfamily Euctenizinae) are a family of mygalomorph spiders. They are now considered to be more closely related to Idiopidae. Etymology The name comes from the Greek prefix (''eu-''), meaning "valua ...

Halonoproctidae Halonoproctidae is a family of mygalomorph spiders, split off from the family Ctenizidae in 2018. Species in the family are widely distributed in North and Central America, Australasia, Asia, southern Europe and North Africa. One species is reco ...

Idiopidae Idiopidae, also known as armored trapdoor spiders, is a family of mygalomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1889. They have a large body similar to tarantulas. Description In some species the males have a spur on their legs, whic ...

– armoured trapdoor spiders *

* Microstigmatidae *

Migidae Migidae, also known as tree trapdoor spiders, is a family of spiders with about 100 species in eleven genera. They are small to large spiders with little to no hair and build burrows with a trapdoor. Some species live in tree fern stems. They hav ...

– tree trapdoor spiders *

Nemesiidae Nemesiidae, also known as funnel-web trapdoor spiders, is a family of mygalomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1889, and raised to family status in 1985. Before becoming its own family, it was considered part of "Dipluridae". Desc ...

* Paratropididae – baldlegged spiders * Porrhothelidae *

– tarantulas Also included is the extinct family Fossilcalcaridae (Cretaceous) and the ''

incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertain ...

'' genera '' Cretamygale'' (Cretaceous) and ''

Rosamygale ''Rosamygale'' is a genus of extinct Triassic spiders, with a single described species, ''Rosamygale grauvogeli''. It is the oldest known member of the Mygalomorphae, one of the three main divisions of spiders, which includes well known forms su ...

'' (Triassic).

References

{{Araneae Mygalomorphae Arachnid superfamilies