Telemidae, also known as long-legged cave spiders, is a family of small haplogyne spiders. Most are cave dwelling spiders with six eyes, though some do not have any eyes at all. There are about 104 described species in sixteen genera.

Physical features

The legs are long, thin, relatively spineless, and do not have

trichobothria Trichobothria (singular trichobothrium) are elongate setae ("hairs") present in arachnids, various orders of insects, and myriapods that function in the detection of airborne vibrations and currents, and electrical charge. In 1883, Friedrich Dah ...

. They have three pairs of

spinneret 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 ...

s, the longest of which is toward the head. Instead of

book lungs A book lung is a type of respiration organ used for atmospheric gas exchange that is present in many arachnids, such as scorpions and spiders. Each of these organs is located inside an open ventral abdominal, air-filled cavity (atrium) and conn ...

, they have two pairs of tracheal spiracles. The elongate abdomen bears a hardened ridge above the pedicel running in a zigzag pattern that is more clearly defined in males than females. The pedipalp on males is oval and bag-like with a thin

spermatophore A spermatophore or sperm ampulla is a capsule or mass containing spermatozoa created by males of various animal species, especially salamanders and arthropods, and transferred in entirety to the female's ovipore during reproduction. Spermatophore ...

. The female pedipalp does not have a claw.

Genera

, 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: *''

Apneumonella ''Apneumonella'' is a genus of long-legged cave spiders that was first described by L. Fage in 1921. It is one of several genera, including '' Telema'', '' Usofila'', and '' Cangoderces'', whose relationship within the family and to these other g ...

'' Fage, 1921 — Asia, Africa *'' Burmalema'' Zhao & Li, 2022 — Myanmar *'' Cangoderces'' Harington, 1951 — Cameroon, Ivory Coast, South Africa, DR Congo *'' Guhua'' Zhao & Li, 2017 — Kenya *''

Jocquella ''Jocquella'' is a genus of Papuan long-legged cave spiders that was first described by L. Baert in 1980. it contains two species, found in Papua New Guinea: '' J. boisai'' and '' J. leopoldi''. See also * List of Telemidae species This pag ...

'' Baert, 1980 — Papua New Guinea *'' Kinku'' Dupérré & Tapia, 2015 — Ecuador *''

Mekonglema ''Mekonglema'' is a genus of Asian long-legged cave spiders first described by H. F. Zhao, S. Q. Li and A. B. Zhang in 2020. Species it contains five species: *'' M. bailang'' Zhao & Li, 2020 ( type) – China *'' M. kaorao'' Zhao & Li, 2020 � ...

'' Zhao & Li, 2020 — China, Thailand, Laos *'' Microlema'' Zhao & Li, 2022 — Thailand, Vietnam *''

Pinelema ''Pinelema'' is a genus of Asian long-legged cave spiders that was first described by C. X. Wang & S. Q. Li in 2012. Species it contains fifty-five species, found in China and Vietnam: * '' Pinelema adunca'' (Wang & Li, 2010) — China * '' ...

'' Wang & Li, 2012 — China, Vietnam *'' Seychellia'' Saaristo, 1978 — Africa *''

Siamlema ''Siamlema'' is a small genus of southeast Asian long-legged cave spiders. It was first described by H. F. Zhao, S. Q. Li and A. B. Zhang in 2020, and it has only been found in Thailand. it contains only two species: '' S. changhai'' and '' S. s ...

'' Zhao & Li, 2020 — Thailand *''

Sundalema ''Sundalema'' is a genus of southeast Asian long-legged cave spiders first described by H. F. Zhao, S. Q. Li and A. B. Zhang in 2020. Species it contains four species: *'' S. acicularis'' (Wang & Li, 2010) – Thailand *'' S. anguina'' (Wang & ...

'' Zhao & Li, 2020 — Thailand, Indonesia *''

Telema ''Telema'' is a genus of long-legged cave spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1882. Species it contains six species, most found in Asia, except for ''T. tenella'', found in Europe, and ''T. mayana'', found in Guatemala: ...

'' Simon, 1882 — Asia, Guatemala, Europe *''

Telemofila ''Telemofila'' is a genus of long-legged cave spiders that was first described by J. Wunderlich in 1995. it contains two species, found on Sumatra and New Caledonia: '' T. pecki'' and '' T. samosirensis''. See also * List of Telemidae species ...

'' Wunderlich, 1995 — Singapore, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Indonesia *''

Usofila ''Usofila'' is a genus of American long-legged cave spiders that was first described by Eugen von Keyserling in 1891. Originally placed with the Ochyroceratidae, it was transferred to the Telemidae in 1973. Species it contains four species, fo ...

'' Keyserling, 1891 — United States *'' Zhuanlema'' Zhao & Li, 2020 — Laos

References

* Platnick, N.I. (1986). On the tibial and patellar glands, relationships, and American genera of the spider family Leptonetidae (Arachnida, Araneae). ''American Museum Novitates'' 2855
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(with info on Telemidae) {{Taxonbar, from=Q11733 Araneomorphae families