Selenops is a spider genus that is found in many arid regions of the world, but some species may also be found in some cooler and even mountainous regions. Most of the 132 species (as of May. 2021) are hard to visually distinguish, and requires study of their finer anatomy. ''S. australiensis'' is found on or under dry bark in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The female reaches 9mm, the male 7mm. It looks superficially like a

huntsman spider Huntsman spiders, members of the family Sparassidae (formerly Heteropodidae), are known by this name because of their speed and mode of hunting. They are also called giant crab spiders because of their size and appearance. Larger species sometim ...

. ''S. radiatus'' has proved to be an effective controlling agent of the potato tuber moth in

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 ...

. Selenops is the first spider known to be able to steer and glide when falling, in order to land in or on a tree, instead of falling to the ground. Selenops spiders are able to attack prey approaching from all directions. When attacking prey from behind, they show some of the fastest turning movements documented in terrestrial legged animals.

Name

Named after the moon goddess

Selene In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene (; grc-gre, Σελήνη , meaning "Moon"''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη) is the goddess and the personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene, she is traditionally the daughter o ...

, and Greek ''-ops'' "eye", because of the moon-like form of the eyes.

Selected species

* ''

Selenops australiensis Selenops is a spider genus that is found in many arid regions of the world, but some species may also be found in some cooler and even mountainous regions. Most of the 132 species (as of May. 2021) are hard to visually distinguish, and requires s ...

'' * ''

Selenops aztecus Selenops is a spider genus that is found in many arid regions of the world, but some species may also be found in some cooler and even mountainous regions. Most of the 132 species (as of May. 2021) are hard to visually distinguish, and requires s ...

'' Valdez-Mondragon, 2010 * ''

Selenops galapagoensis Selenops is a spider genus that is found in many arid regions of the world, but some species may also be found in some cooler and even mountainous regions. Most of the 132 species (as of May. 2021) are hard to visually distinguish, and requires s ...

'' * '' Selenops lobatse'' * '' Selenops muehlmannorum'' Jager & Praxaysombath, 2011Jager, P. & Praxaysombath, B. (2011). "''Selenops muehlmannorum'' spec. nov. from Southern Laos (Araneae: Selenopidae)." ''Zootaxa'' 2883: 65-68. * '' Selenops nesophilus'' * '' Selenops radiatus'' * '' Selenops rosario'' * '' Selenops submaculosus''

References

External links

Picture of ''Selenops sp.''

Selenopidae Araneomorphae genera Spiders of North America Spiders of South America Spiders of Asia Spiders of Africa {{Araneomorphae-stub