The family Cyrtaucheniidae, known as wafer-lid trapdoor spiders, are a widespread family of Mygalomorphae spiders.

Description

Wafer-lid spiders are generally large and range in color between light brown and black. Their eyes are placed in two rows, either in a rectangular position or with the back row wider apart. They lack the thorn-like spines on tarsi and metatarsi I and II (the two outermost leg segments) found in true trapdoor spiders (

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 ...

). Many, but not all, make wafer-like doors to their burrows, while others build the cork-like doors found commonly in the true trapdoor spiders.

Distribution

The family is well represented South America, and Africa. A currently undescribed genus in the western United States may hold an altitude record for the family, being found up to over . The genus ''Anemesia'' is found only in Central Asia, and ''Cyrtauchenius'' reaches from Algeria north to Italy, with one species found in the USA. ''Angka'' is endemic to the

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

of Doi Inthanon, Thailand.

Genera

The former subfamily Euctenizinae from the US and Mexico were promoted to family rank as Euctenizidae in 2012, and are now considered more closely related to Idiopidae. Further changes to the circumscription of the family were made in 2020. , the World Spider Catalog accepted the following genera: *''

Acontius Acontius (Ancient Greek: Ἀκόντιος), was in Greek mythology a beautiful youth of the island of Ceos, the hero of a love-story told by Callimachus in a poem of which only fragments remain, and which forms the subject of two of Ovid's ''He ...

'' Karsch, 1879 — Africa, Argentina *''

Ancylotrypa ''Ancylotrypa'' is a genus of African wafer trapdoor spiders that was first described by Eugène Simon in 1889. Originally placed with the Ctenizidae, it was moved to the Cyrtaucheniidae in 1953. Species it contains 43 species: *'' Ancylotrypa ...

'' Simon, 1889 — Africa *''

Anemesia ''Anemesia'' is a genus of Asian wafer trapdoor spiders that was first described by Reginald Innes Pocock Reginald Innes Pocock F.R.S. (4 March 1863 – 9 August 1947) was a British zoologist. Pocock was born in Clifton, Bristol, the four ...

'' Pocock, 1895 — Asia *''

Bolostromoides ''Bolostromoides'' is a monotypic genus of South American wafer trapdoor spiders containing the single species, ''Bolostromoides summorum''. It was first described by R. D. Schiapelli & B. S. Gerschman in 1945, and has only been found in Venezue ...

'' Schiapelli & Gerschman, 1945 — Venezuela *''

Bolostromus ''Bolostromus'' is a genus of wafer trapdoor spiders that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1875. Species it contains nine species: *'' Bolostromus fauna'' (Simon, 1889) – Venezuela *'' Bolostromus gaujoni'' (Simon, 1889) – Ecuador ...

'' Ausserer, 1875 — South America, Caribbean, Panama, Uganda *''

Cyrtauchenius ''Cyrtauchenius'' is a genus of wafer trapdoor spiders that was first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1869. Originally placed with the Ctenizidae, it was moved to the Cyrtaucheniidae in 1985. Species it contains fourteen species, almost all f ...

'' Thorell, 1869 — Algeria, United States Genera which have been reclassified to other families include: *''

Amblyocarenum ''Amblyocarenum'' is a genus of spider in the family Nemesiidae, found in southern Europe and the Mediterranean. It was formerly placed in the family Cyrtaucheniidae. Species , the World Spider Catalog accepted the following species: *'' Ambl ...

'' Simon, 1892 → Nemesiidae *'' Angka'' Raven & Schwendinger, 1995 →

Microstigmatidae Microstigmatidae is a small family of spiders with about 25 described species in eight genera. They are small ground-dwelling and free-living spiders that make little use of silk. The family was removed from the family Dipluridae in 1981. The sub ...

*''

Homostola ''Homostola'' is a genus of African mygalomorph spiders in the family Bemmeridae. It was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1892. Originally placed with the Ctenizidae, it was transferred to the wafer trapdoor spiders in 1985, and to the ...

'' Simon, 1892 →

Bemmeridae ''Bemmeridae'' is a family of African and Asian mygalomorph spiders that was first described as the tribe ''Bemmereae'' by Eugène Simon in 1903. It was elevated to a subfamily of funnel-web trapdoor spiders (''Bemmerinae'') in 1985, then to its ...

*''

Fufius ''Fufius'' is a genus of Central and South American wafer trapdoor spiders that was first described by Eugène Simon Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects a ...

''Simon, 1888 → Rhytidicolidae

Footnotes

References

* Raven, Robert J. (1985). "The spider Infraorder Mygalomorphae (Araneae): cladistics and systematics". ''Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History'' 182: 1–180. * Platnick, Norman I. (2008).
The world spider catalog
version 8.5". American Museum of Natural History. {{Taxonbar, from=Q10031 Cyrtaucheniidae Mygalomorphae families

Description

Distribution

Genera

See also

Footnotes

References