''Califorctenus'' is a genus of spiders in the family

Ctenidae Wandering spiders (''Ctenidae'') are a family of spiders that includes the Brazilian wandering spiders. These spiders have a distinctive longitudinal groove on the top-rear of their oval carapace similar to those of the Amaurobiidae. They are hig ...

. It was first described in 2017 by Jiménez, Berrian, Polotow, and Palacios-Cardiel. , it contains only one species, ''Califorctenus cacachilensis'', also known as the Sierra Cacachilas wandering spider.

''Califorctenus cacachilensis''

''Califorctenus cacachilensis'' is named for the

Sierra de las Cacachilas The Sierra de las Cacachilas is a mountain range of eastern Baja California Sur state, located on the southern Baja California Peninsula in northwestern Mexico. It is a mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges System, which extends from Souther ...

mountain range in

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...

, where it was first found in an

abandoned mine An abandoned mine is a mine or quarry which is no longer producing or operational and, there is no responsible party to finance the cost to address the remediation and/or restoration of the mine feature/site. Terms and definitions vary though the ...

by Michael Wall and Jim Berrian, researchers from the

San Diego Natural History Museum The San Diego Natural History Museum is a museum located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It was founded in 1874 as the San Diego Society of Natural History. It is the second oldest scientific institution west of the Mississippi and th ...

, during an expedition on November 4, 2013. Subsequent collaboration with María Jimenez, an

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

who identified it as a member of the ''

'' or wandering spider family, confirmed it was a new species and genus. Berrian initially noted shed exoskeletons during the 2013 expedition, and eventually found two dozen spiders, bringing eight back to San Diego for further study. He received a spider bite during the expedition, which he described as "like being poked by a cactus spine and a little mild pain."

References

External links

* * * Ctenidae Monotypic Araneomorphae genera Spiders of Mexico {{ctenidae-stub