''Pionothele'' 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 ...

of African

mygalomorph The Mygalomorphae, or mygalomorphs, are an infraorder of spiders, and comprise one of three major groups of living spiders with over 3000 species, found on all continents except Antarctica. Many members are known as trapdoor spiders due to the ...

spiders in the family Pycnothelidae. It was first described by

William Frederick Purcell William Frederick Purcell (18 September 1866 - 3 October 1919) was an English-born South African arachnologist and zoologist. He is regarded as being the founder of modern araneology in South Africa. Early life and education Purcell was bor ...

in 1902. it contains 2 species, found in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

: '' P. gobabeb'', and '' P. straminea''. 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 transferred to the funnel-web trapdoor spiders in 1985, then to the Pycnothelidae in 2020.

See also

References

Further reading