''Masoncus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n dwarf spiders that was first described by Ralph Vary Chamberlin in 1949.

Species

it contains four species, found in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

: *'' Masoncus arienus'' Chamberlin, 1949 (

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

) – USA, *''

Masoncus conspectus ''Masoncus'' is a genus of North American Linyphiidae, dwarf spiders that was first described by Ralph Vary Chamberlin in 1949. Species it contains four species, found in Canada and the United States: *''Masoncus arienus'' Chamberlin, 1949 (Typ ...

'' (

Gertsch Willis John Gertsch (October 4, 1906 – December 12, 1998) was an American arachnologist. He described over 1,000 species of spiders, scorpions, and other arachnids, including the Brown recluse spider and the Tooth cave spider. Gertsch was born ...

& Davis, 1936) – USA *'' Masoncus dux'' Chamberlin, 1949 – Canada *'' Masoncus pogonophilus'' Cushing, 1995 – USA. Known

myrmecophilic Myrmecophily ( , ) is the term applied to positive interspecies associations between ants and a variety of other organisms, such as plants, other arthropods, and fungi. Myrmecophily refers to mutualistic associations with ants, though in its ...

association with ''

Pogonomyrmex badius ''Pogonomyrmex badius'', or the Florida harvester ant, is a species of harvester ant in the genus ''Pogonomyrmex''. It is the only ''Pogonomyrmex'' species found on the east coast of the United States and the only one in North America known to b ...

'', this spider lives in the nest and feeds on

springtails Springtails (Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects (the other two are the Protura and Diplura). Although the three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called Ent ...

References

Araneomorphae genera Linyphiidae Spiders of North America {{Linyphiidae-stub

Species

See also

References