Coneweb spiders (Diguetidae) are six-eyed

haplogyne The Haplogynae or haplogynes are one of the two main groups into which araneomorph spiders have traditionally been divided, the other being the Entelegynae. Morphological phylogenetic studies suggested that the Haplogynae formed a clade; more rece ...

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s that live in tangled space webs, fashioning a cone-like central retreat where they hide and lay

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

s. It is a small family, containing only two genera with fifteen species and is confined to the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

, preferring deserts. Members of the genus '' Diguetia'' usually build their webs in shrubs or between

cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...

pads. They have the same eye arrangement as the

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

recluse spiders (family ''Sicariidae''), but none are known to be harmful to

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

Taxonomy

The group was first created by F. O. Pickard-Cambridge in 1899 as the subfamily Diguetiinae of the family

Scytodidae Spitting spiders (Scytodidae) is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by John Blackwall in 1864. It contains over 250 species in five genera, of which ''Scytodes'' is the best-known. Description Like recluse spiders and coneweb sp ...

. It was raised to the rank of family by

Willis J. 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 ...

using the spelling "Diguetidae". Pickard-Cambridge's use of double "i" is correct according to Article 29.3 of the

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the ...

, since the name is based on the genus ''Diguetia''. In 2004, Jörg Wonderlich suggested reducing it again to a subfamily, this time of Plectreuridae. However, it is still sometimes considered a subfamily of the Plectreuridae.

Genera and species

, the

World Spider Catalog The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...

accepts the following genera:

''Diguetia''

'' Diguetia'' Simon, 1895 *'' Diguetia albolineata'' (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1895) — USA, Mexico *'' Diguetia andersoni'' Gertsch, 1958 — USA *'' Diguetia canities'' (McCook, 1890) — USA, Mexico *'' Diguetia canities dialectica'' Chamberlin, 1924 — Mexico *'' Diguetia canities mulaiki'' Gertsch, 1958 — USA *'' Diguetia catamarquensis'' (Mello-Leitão, 1941) — Argentina *'' Diguetia imperiosa'' Gertsch & Mulaik, 1940 — USA, Mexico *'' Diguetia mojavea'' Gertsch, 1958 — USA *'' Diguetia propinqua'' (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1896) — Mexico *'' Diguetia signata'' Gertsch, 1958 — USA, Mexico *'' Diguetia stridulans'' Chamberlin, 1924 — Mexico

''Segestrioides''

'' Segestrioides'' Keyserling, 1883 *'' Segestrioides badia'' (Simon, 1903) – Brazil *'' Segestrioides bicolor'' Keyserling, 1883 (

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

) – Peru *'' Segestrioides copiapo'' Platnick, 1989 – Chile *'' Segestrioides tofo'' Platnick, 1989 – Chile

References

External links