''Myrmekiaphila'' is a genus of

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 mygalomorph trapdoor spiders in the family Euctenizidae, and was first described by G. F. Atkinson in 1886. All described species are endemic to the southeastern United States. Originally placed with the

Ctenizidae Ctenizidae is a small family of mygalomorph spiders that construct burrows with a cork-like trapdoor made of soil, vegetation, and silk. They may be called trapdoor spiders, as are other, similar species, such as those of the families Liphistii ...

, it was moved to the

wafer trapdoor spider The wafer trapdoor spiders, family Cyrtaucheniidae, are a widespread family of spiders that lack the thorn-like spines on tarsi and metatarsi I and II (the two outermost leg segments) found in true trapdoor spiders ( Ctenizidae). Etymology T ...

s in 1985, then to the Euctenizidae in 2012. ''Myrmekiaphila'' appears as the sister group to all southwestern Euctenizidae with the exception of ''

Apomastus ''Apomastus'' is a genus of North American mygalomorph spiders in the family Euctenizidae, and was first described by Jason Bond & B. D. Opell in 2002. it contains only two species, both found in the Los Angeles Basin of southern California: ''A ...

'', which in turn is the sister group to all euctenizines. ''M. flavipes'' was transferred from '' Aptostichus'' in 2007.

Description

The known species of this genus resemble each other in appearance and behavior. The

carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...

is long and wide. Females are uniformly colored, with some dusky stripes on the dorsum of the abdomen. Colors range from yellowish red to dark reddish brown. The palpal tibia of the males are modified in a way that distinguishes them from other mygalomorph spiders of

. The first legs in males are modified as mating claspers. All members live in subterranean, silk-lined burrows covered by a silken-soil trap door. Some species construct side chambers that can be closed off by secondary trap doors, a unique feature among Cyrtaucheniidae. While the related ''

Promyrmekiaphila ''Promyrmekiaphila'' is a genus of North American mygalomorph spiders in the family Euctenizidae. The genus was first described by E. Schenkel in 1950. it contains only two species, both found in the United States The United States of A ...

'' and '' Aptostichus'' also build side chambers, they do not close them with trap doors. G. F. Atkinson collected his specimens while hunting for ants, often finding them in close proximity to ant nests. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek ('' myrmex''), meaning "ant", and ('' philein''), meaning "to love", referencing their apparent fondness of ant nests.

Species

it contains twelve species restricted to the southeastern United States, but found in a wide variety of habitats. These range from northern Virginia along the Appalachian Mountains southward through West Virginia, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and northern Georgia into the southeastern plain of Alabama, Mississippi Florida, and the temperate deciduous forest of central Texas with dry climates and relatively high altitudes. *'' Myrmekiaphila comstocki'' Bishop & Crosby, 1926 – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila coreyi'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila flavipes'' ( Petrunkevitch, 1925) – USA *''

Myrmekiaphila fluviatilis ''Myrmekiaphila'' is a genus of North American mygalomorph trapdoor spiders in the family Euctenizidae, and was first described by G. F. Atkinson in 1886. All described species are endemic to the southeastern United States. Originally placed wi ...

'' ( Hentz, 1850) – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila foliata'' Atkinson, 1886 (

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 *'' Myrmekiaphila howelli'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 – USA *''

Myrmekiaphila jenkinsi ''Myrmekiaphila'' is a genus of North American mygalomorph trapdoor spiders in the family Euctenizidae, and was first described by G. F. Atkinson in 1886. All described species are endemic to the southeastern United States. Originally placed w ...

'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila millerae'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 – USA *''

Myrmekiaphila minuta ''Myrmekiaphila'' is a genus of North American mygalomorph trapdoor spiders in the family Euctenizidae, and was first described by G. F. Atkinson in 1886. All described species are endemic to the southeastern United States. Originally placed w ...

'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 – USA *''

Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi ''Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi'' is a species of spider in the family Euctenizidae, described in 2007 by East Carolina University professor of biology Jason Bond, Jason E. Bond and Norman I. Platnick, curator at the American Museum of Natural Histor ...

'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila tigris'' Bond & Ray, 2012 – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila torreya''

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 ...

& Wallace, 1936 – USA Three species groups are currently recognized. These are only intended to facilitate identification based on the male palp; it is not known if they represent monophyletic taxa. ''M. flavipes'' is only known from females and thus not grouped. * ''foliata'' group :* '' Myrmekiaphila comstocki'' Bishop & Crosby, 1926 :* '' Myrmekiaphila coreyi'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 :* '' Myrmekiaphila foliata'' Atkinson, 1886 :* '' Myrmekiaphila tigris'' Bond et al., 2012Bond, Jason, Chris Hamilton, Nicole Garrison, Charles Ray. 2012. Phylogenetic reconsideration of ''Myrmekiaphila'' systematics with a description of the new trapdoor spider species ''Myrmekiaphila tigris'' (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Cyrtaucheniidae, Euctenizinae) from Auburn, Alabama. ZooKeys 190 (2012): 95-109. * ''fluviatilis'' group :* ''

'' ( Hentz, 1850) :* '' Myrmekiaphila howelli'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 :* ''

'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 :* '' Myrmekiaphila millerae'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 :* ''

'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 :* '' Myrmekiaphila torreya'' Gertsch & Wallace, 1936 * ''minuta'' group :* ''

'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 * unplaced species :* '' Myrmekiaphila flavipes'' ( Petrunkevitch, 1925)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1932985 Euctenizidae Mygalomorphae genera Spiders of the United States