Heptathela

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Heptathela
Heptathela.kimurai.yanbaruensis.female.-.tanikawa.jpg
Heptathela kimurai
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Suborder: Mesothelae
Family: Heptathelidae
Genus: Heptathela
Kishida, 1923 [1]
Species

See text

Diversity [1]
20 species

Heptathela is a genus of spiders that includes the Kimura spider (Heptathela kimurai). They are trapdoor spiders of the family Heptathelidae [2] and are found in Japan, including Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands. [1] Spiders of this genus lack venom glands. [3]

Females are up to 25 mm long, males slightly smaller. Burrows have an oval shaped door which is hinged across the long diameter. [4]

Name

The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek hepta "seven", referring to the number of spinneret glands.

Species

As of January 2022, the World Spider Catalog accepted the following species: [1]

Many of the species formerly placed in this genus have been transferred to other genera in the family Liphistiidae, including Luthela , Songthela and Vinathela . [1]

Social reference

This is the genus of spider referenced by Vincent Price in the introduction to Alice Cooper's The Black Widow on his Welcome to my Nightmare album.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimura spider</span> Species of trapdoor spider

Heptathela kimurai, the Kimura spider, or kimura-gumo, is an Old World spider, found primarily in Japan and named after Arika Kimura, who collected it in 1920. It belongs to the sub-order Mesothelae and can reach up to 3 cm in length. Its burrows are covered by a camouflaged "pill box" flap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mesothelae</span> Suborder of spiders

The Mesothelae are a suborder of spiders. As of April 2024, two extant families were accepted by the World Spider Catalog, Liphistiidae and Heptathelidae. Alternatively, the Heptathelidae can be treated as a subfamily of a more broadly circumscribed Liphistiidae. There are also a number of extinct families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liphistiidae</span> Family of trapdoor spiders from Asia

The spider family Liphistiidae was first recognized by Tamerlan Thorell in 1869. When narrowly circumscribed, it comprises a single genus Liphistius, native to Southeast Asia; as of April 2024, this was the circumscription accepted by the World Spider Catalog. The family contains the most basal living spiders, belonging to the suborder Mesothelae. The family has also been circumscribed more broadly to include the family Heptathelidae as a subfamily, Heptathelinae, with the narrowly circumscribed Liphistiidae becoming the subfamily Liphistiinae.

<i>Macrothele</i> Genus of spiders

Macrothele is a genus of mygalomorph spiders in the family Macrothelidae, and was first described by A. Ausserer in 1871. Most species occur in Asia, from India to Japan, and Java, with five found in Africa, and two in Europe. The name is derived from Ancient Greek μακρός ("makro-"), meaning "big", and θηλή ("thele"), referring to the spinnerets.

<i>Liphistius</i> Genus of trapdoor spider

Liphistius is a genus of basal trapdoor spiders in the family Liphistiidae. They are found in Japan, China, and Southeast Asia.

<i>Anelosimus</i> Genus of spiders

Anelosimus is a cosmopolitan genus of cobweb spiders (Theridiidae), currently containing 74 species. Anelosimus is a key group in the study of sociality and its evolution in spiders. It contains species spanning the spectrum from solitary to highly social (quasisocial), with eight quasisocial species, far more than any other spider genus. Among these is the South American social species Anelosimus eximius, among the best studied social spider species.

<i>Ryuthela</i> Genus of spiders

Ryuthela is a spider genus in the family Heptathelidae. This genus, as well as their closest relatives, Heptathela, formed when land masses from present-day Japan separated from the rest of Asia, forming islands in the late Miocene. Speciation of Ryuthela and Heptathela also occurred during this time, because of the further separation of islands, causing allopatric speciation.

Songthela is a spider genus in the family Heptathelidae, with species found in China and Vietnam.

<i>Coelotes</i> Genus of spiders

Coelotes is a genus of funnel weavers first described by John Blackwall in 1841. A large number of species are found throughout Europe and Asia.

<i>Latouchia</i> Genus of spiders

Latouchia is a genus of Asian mygalomorph spiders in the family Halonoproctidae, first described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1901. Originally placed with the Ctenizidae, it was moved to the Halonoproctidae in 2018.

<i>Conothele</i> Genus of spiders

Conothele is a genus of mygalomorph spiders in the family Halonoproctidae, first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1878. Originally placed with the Ctenizidae, it was moved to the Halonoproctidae in 2018.

<i>Falcileptoneta</i> Genus of spiders

Falcileptoneta is a genus of East Asian leptonetids that was first described by T. Komatsu in 1970.

Ganthela is a genus of spiders in the family Heptathelidae. It was first described in 2015 by Xu & Kuntner. As of 2017, it contains 7 species, all of them from China.

<i>Qiongthela</i> Genus of spiders

Qiongthela is a genus of spiders in the family Heptathelidae. As of 2021, it contains 14 species.

Vinathela is a genus of spiders in the family Heptathelidae. It was first described in 2000 by Ono. As of 2017, it contains 7 species. Two species were formerly placed in the genus Nanthela, now submerged into Vinathela.

Sinopesa is a genus of spiders in the family Nemesiidae. It is found in China and on Ryukyu Islands in Japan. It was first described in 1995 by Raven & Schwendinger. As of 2023, it contains 8 Asian species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heptathelidae</span> Family of spiders

Heptathelidae is a family of spiders. It has been sunk within the family Liphistiidae as the subfamily Heptathelinae, but as of April 2024 was accepted by the World Spider Catalog. It is placed in suborder Mesothelae, which contains the most basal living spiders.

Luthela is a genus of spiders in the family Heptathelidae, found in China.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Gen. Heptathela Kishida, 1923". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  2. "Family Heptathelidae Kishida, 1923 (genus list)". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  3. Forster, R. R. & Platnick, N. I. (1984). "A review of the archaeid spiders and their relatives, with notes on the limits of the superfamily Palpimanoidea (Arachnida, Araneae)". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 178: 1–106. hdl:2246/991. Full text at "A review of the archaeid spiders and their relatives" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-10-13. (60 MB)
  4. Murphy, Frances & Murphy, John (2000). An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Nature Society. ISBN   978-983-9681-17-8.