''Aptostichus angelinajolieae'', the Angelina Jolie trapdoor spider, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

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 ...

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chiti ...

s who seize their prey after leaping out of their burrows and inject it with

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...

. It was described by the

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest ...

professor

Jason Bond Jason E. Bond is a Professor of Entomology and the Schlinger Chair in Insect Systematics at the University of California, Davis. He was previously Professor of Biology, Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences and Director of the Auburn Univ ...

in 2008, who named it after the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

in recognition of her work on the

United Nations High Commission for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrat ...

. It was one of only seven described species of ''

Aptostichus ''Aptostichus'' is a genus of North American mygalomorph spiders in the family Euctenizidae, and was first described by Eugène Simon in 1891. They are found predominantly in southern California, United States. Behavior Members of the North Ame ...

'' until 2012, when it was joined by Bono's Joshua Tree trapdoor spider and 32 other species.

Identification and distribution

Aptostichus angelinajolieae anatomy (Zookeys)

It is difficult to identify an individual as being an ''A. angelinajolieae'' specimen due to the species' morphological similarity to '' A. atomarius'' and '' A. stanfordianus''. A set of unique

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

nucleotide substitutions sets the species apart and allows a

diagnosis Diagnosis is the identification of the nature and cause of a certain phenomenon. Diagnosis is used in many different disciplines, with variations in the use of logic, analytics, and experience, to determine "cause and effect". In systems engin ...

. ''A. angelinajolieae'' inhabits the north of

Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Monte ...

, restricted to the

Santa Lucia Range The Santa Lucia Mountains (sæntə luˈsiːə) or Santa Lucia Range is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Carmel southeast for to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than from ...

west of the

Salinas Valley The Salinas Valley is one of the major valleys and most productive agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley. The Salinas River, which geologically ...

, which probably serves as a dispersal barrier. Its

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

consists of

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranea ...

forest and shrub. It is not found in the

coastal dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

s, which are the habitat of the geographically proximate but lighter colored '' A. stephencolberti''. Female specimens are normally seen on road cuts and humid, shaded steep banks. The species creates shallow burrows with a thin silk-soil trapdoor and white silken lined retreat.

Taxonomy

Due to the Salinas Valley barrier, there is no genetic exchangeability between ''Aptostichus angelinajolieae'' and other ''Aptostichus'' species. This and the species' exclusivity as a lineage in DNA studies makes it a cohesion species. ''A. angelinajolieae'' belongs to the ''Atomarius''

Sibling Species In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

Complex along with the closely related species ''A. atomarius'', '' A. dantrippi'', '' A. miwok'', ''A. stanfordianus'' and ''A. stephencolberti''.

Conservation status

In addition to being widespread and abundant in its range, the Angelina Jolie trapdoor spider flourishes in moderately developed

residential area A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family resi ...

s. Therefore, in terms of its

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...

, it is not considered to be a threatened species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1394522 Euctenizidae Endemic fauna of California Spiders of the United States Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of Monterey County, California ~ Spiders described in 2008 Angelina Jolie Fauna without expected TNC conservation status

Identification and distribution

Taxonomy

Conservation status

See also

References