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 country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
. The female reaches 9mm, the male 7mm. It looks superficially like a
huntsman spider.
''S. radiatus'' has proved to be an effective
controlling agent of the
potato tuber moth
''Phthorimaea operculella'', also known as the potato tuber moth or tobacco splitworm, is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It is an oligophagous insect that feeds on the plant family Solanaceae and is especially known for being a major pest of ...
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 coun ...
.
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 of ...
, and Greek ''-ops'' "eye", because of the moon-like form of the eyes.
Selected species
* ''
Selenops australiensis''
* ''
Selenops aztecus''
Valdez-Mondragon, 2010
* ''
Selenops galapagoensis''
* ''
Selenops lobatse''
* ''
Selenops muehlmannorum''
Jager & Praxaysombath, 2011[Jager, 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