Dwarf tarantulas, also known as sheet funnel-web spiders are a type of spider from the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Mecicobothriidae. Dwarf tarantulas are one of several families of the suborder
Mygalomorphae
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 ...
; this larger group also includes the true
tarantula
Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...
s.
Description
Dwarf tarantulas, as the name indicates, appear very similar to tarantulas, but are physically much smaller. Many specimens are smaller than 1 cm in length, and the largest in the family are seldom larger than 2 cm. The spiders, like all Mygalomorphae, have downward pointing fangs; dwarf tarantulas also have long
spinnerets
A spinneret is a silk-spinning organ of a spider or the larva of an insect. Some adult insects also have spinnerets, such as those borne on the forelegs of Embioptera. Spinnerets are usually on the underside of a spider's opisthosoma, and are ...
.
Genera
There is currently only 1 recognized
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 ...
in this family:
''
Mecicobothrium''
Holmberg, 1882
* ''
Mecicobothrium baccai''
Lucas et al., 2006 — Brazil
* ''
Mecicobothrium thorelli
''Mecicobothrium thorelli'' is a spider in the family Mecicobothriidae, native to Argentina and Uruguay. It was first described in 1882 by Holmberg. The Specific name (zoology), specific name ''thorelli'' honours Tamerlan Thorell. The species is ...
''
Holmberg, 1882 — Argentina, Uruguay
Genera moved to other families include:
*''
Hexura
''Hexura'' is a genus of American folding trapdoor spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1884. it contains two species, found in the United States: '' H. picea'' and '' H. rothi''. Originally placed with Mecicobothriidae, ...
''
Simon, 1884 →
Antrodiaetidae
Antrodiaetidae, also known as folding trapdoor spiders or folding-door spiders, is a small spider family related to atypical tarantulas. They are found almost exclusively in the western and midwestern United States, from California to Washington ...
*''
Hexurella''
Gertsch & Platnick, 1979 →
Hexurellidae
*''
Megahexura''
Kaston, 1972 →
Megahexuridae
See also
*
Spider families
Spider taxonomy is that part of taxonomy that is concerned with the science of naming, defining and classifying all spiders, members of the Araneae order of the arthropod class Arachnida with more than 48,500 described species. However, there are ...
References
* Costa, F.G. & Pérez-Miles, F. (1998). Behavior, life cycle, and webs of ''Mecicobothrium thorelli'', ''The Journal of Arachnology'' 26:317-32
PDF*Gertsch, W.G. & Platnick, N.I. (1979). A revision of the spider family Mecicobothriidae (Araneae, Mygalomorphae). ''American Museum Novitates'' 268
PDF (14Mb)Abstract*
Mygalomorphae
Spiders of South America
Spiders of North America
Taxa named by Eduardo Ladislao Holmberg
{{Mygalomorphae-stub