''Myrmekiaphila'' 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 mygalomorph

trapdoor spider Trapdoor spider is a common name that is used to refer to various spiders from several different groups that create burrows with a silk-hinged trapdoor to help them ambush prey. Several families within the infraorder Mygalomorphae contain trapdoo ...

s in the family Euctenizidae, and was first described by G. F. Atkinson in 1886. All described

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 appropriate s ...

are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

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 Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

('' 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 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 ...

, but found in a wide variety of

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s. These range from northern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

along the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

southward through

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and northern Georgia into the southeastern plain of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and the temperate deciduous forest of central

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

with dry climates and relatively high altitudes. *'' Myrmekiaphila comstocki'' Bishop & Crosby, 1926 – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila coreyi''

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...

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

References

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