trapdoor spider

Trapdoor spiders
Trapdoor spider in burrow
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Arachnida Order: Araneae Suborder: Mygalomorphae Superfamily: Ctenizoidea Family: Ctenizidae Thorell, 1887
Diversity
9 genera, 120 species
Genera
See text.

Trapdoor spiders (superfamily Ctenizoidea, family Ctenizidae) are medium-sized mygalomorph spiders that construct burrows with a cork-like trapdoor made of soil, vegetation and silk.

Ecology and Behavior

The trapdoor is difficult to see when it is closed because the plant and soil materials effectively camouflage it. The trapdoor is hinged on one side with silk. The spiders, which are usually nocturnal, typically wait for prey while holding onto the underside of the door with the claws on their tarsi. Prey is captured when insects or other arthropods venture too close to the half-open trapdoor at night. The spider detects the prey by vibrations and when it comes close enough, the spider pops out of its burrow and captures it. Male trapdoor spiders can overcome the females' aggressive reactions to their approach, but it is not known how. Females never travel far from their burrows. Eggs are laid in sacs in the female's burrow. Enemies of the trapdoor spider include certain pompilid (spider) wasps, which seek out the burrows and manage to gain entrance. They sting the owner and lay their eggs (usually one per spider) on its body.

Unlike other mygalomorph spiders, the Ctenizidae have a rastellum on the chelicera. This is used to dig and gather soil while constructing a burrow. They use their pedipalps and first legs to hold the trapdoor closed when disturbed.^[1]

Taxonomy

Trapdoor Spider, Ummidia sp.

The taxonomy of trapdoor spiders is currently not well understood in the United States and many species of the common genus Ummidia remain undescribed. Ummidia is distributed across the southern United States. Bothriocyrtum californicum is the common trapdoor spider of the Pacific Coast. The strange genus Cyclocosmia includes four species, one each in Florida, Georgia, Mexico and China. The discontinuous distribution is indicative of a primitive genus that was affected by continental drift. The spiders of this genus are unusual in having a mask-like hardened plate on the opisthosoma, which seems to act as a second door to exclude predators, like the spider wasps. There is a narrow part of the burrow of these spiders where the abdominal shield just barely fits. Cyclocosmia torreya builds burrows in moss banks along the Apalachicola River in Florida. Other genera of trapdoor spiders are found in other areas of the world. They actually may be more common than we may think because of their cryptic habits. They do tend to be localized in distribution and as such may be subject to extinction because of local habitat destruction. Malaysia has 8 species of Liphistius Liphistiidae spider, some of which are endemic to certain places such as a cave.

Genera

The categorization into subfamilies follows Joel Hallan.[1]

• Ctenizinae Thorell, 1887
  • Cteniza Latreille, 1829 (Europe, Central Asia)
  • Bothriocyrtum Simon, 1891 (USA, Mexico, Taiwan)
  • Cyclocosmia Ausserer, 1871 (USA to Guatemala, Thailand, China)
  • Cyrtocarenum Ausserer, 1871 (Greece, Turkey)
  • Latouchia Pocock, 1901 (Asia)
  • Stasimopus Simon, 1892 (South Africa)

• Pachylomerinae
  • Conothele Thorell, 1878 (New Zealand, Australian region)
  • Hebestatis Simon, 1903 (Costa Rica, USA)
  • Ummidia Thorell, 1875 (America, Mediterranean, Japan, Taiwan)

See also

• List of Ctenizidae species
• List of spider common names
• Spider families

References

1. ^ Tso, I., Haupt, J. & Zhu, M. (2003). The trapdoor spider family Ctenizidae (Arachnida: Araneae) from Taiwan. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 51(1):25-33. PDF (Ummidia and Latouchia)

• Hendrixson, B.E. & Bond, J.E. (2004). A new species of Stasimopus from the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Ctenizidae), with notes on its natural history. Zootaxa 619: 1-14 PDF

External links

Wikispecies has information related to:

Ctenizidae

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Ctenizidae

• Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Trapdoor Spider (Ummidia sp.)
• California Trapdoor Spider.
• Jackman, John, Trapdoor Spider (Ummidia sp.)
• Platnick, N.I. 2003. World Spider Catalog.
• Photos, Laos trapdoor spider

Arthropoda - Arachnida - Spider families (Araneae)

Mesothelae: Liphistiidae Mygalomorphae: Actinopodidae - Antrodiaetidae - Atypidae - Barychelidae - Ctenizidae - Cyrtaucheniidae - Dipluridae - Hexathelidae - Idiopidae - Mecicobothriidae - Microstigmatidae - Migidae - Nemesiidae - Paratropididae - Theraphosidae Araneomorphae: Agelenidae - Amaurobiidae - Ammoxenidae - Amphinectidae - Anapidae - Anyphaenidae - Araneidae - Archaeidae - Austrochilidae - Caponiidae - Chummidae - Cithaeronidae - Clubionidae - Corinnidae - Cryptothelidae - Ctenidae - Cyatholipidae - Cybaeidae - Cycloctenidae - Deinopidae - Desidae - Dictynidae - Diguetidae - Drymusidae - Dysderidae - Eresidae - Filistatidae - Gallieniellidae - Gnaphosidae - Gradungulidae - Hahniidae - Halidae - Hersiliidae - Holarchaeidae - Homalonychidae - Huttoniidae - Hypochilidae - Lamponidae - Leptonetidae - Linyphiidae - Liocranidae - Lycosidae - Malkaridae - Mecysmaucheniidae - Micropholcommatidae - Mimetidae - Miturgidae - Mysmenidae - Neolanidae - Nephilidae - Nesticidae - Nicodamidae - Ochyroceratidae - Oecobiidae - Oonopidae - Orsolobidae - Oxyopidae - Palpimanidae - Pararchaeidae - Periegopidae - Philodromidae - Pholcidae - Phyxelididae - Pimoidae - Pisauridae - Plectreuridae - Prodidomidae - Psechridae - Salticidae - Scytodidae - Segestriidae - Selenopidae - Senoculidae - Sicariidae - Sparassidae - Stenochilidae - Stiphidiidae - Symphytognathidae - Synaphridae - Synotaxidae - Telemidae - Tengellidae - Tetrablemmidae - Tetragnathidae - Theridiidae - Theridiosomatidae - Thomisidae - Titanoecidae - Trechaleidae - Trochanteriidae - Uloboridae - Zodariidae - Zoridae - Zorocratidae - Zoropsidae

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