Actinopus

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Actinopus
Actinopus pusillus - Alexandre S. Michelotto - 8.jpg
Actinopus pusilus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Family: Actinopodidae
Genus: Actinopus
Perty, 1833 [1]
Type species
A. tarsalis
Perty, 1833
Species

See text.

Actinopus is a genus of mygalomorph spiders in the family Actinopodidae. As such, they live in soil-covered burrows with a hinged top. The males wander about in search for females, which stay in their burrow for most of their life.

Contents

Taxonomy

The genus was first described by Josef Anton Maximilian Perty in 1833 from the type species Actinopus tarsalis found in Brazil. [2] [3] The genus name comes from Ancient Greek ἀκτίς (aktís), meaning "ray, beam", and πούς (poús), meaning "foot", and thus, "ray foot". [2] It is a senior synonym of Aussereria, Closterochilus, Pachyloscelis, and Theragretes. [4] [5] [6]

Venom

The few reported bites from Brazil resulted in no symptoms, indicating that they can deliver dry bites or small amounts of venom. [7] However, they should be treated with caution due to some reports of bites causing local pain and muscle contractions. [8] These spiders also have a low venom yield; Actinopus crassipes for example has a mean venom yield of 0.09 mg. [9]

Species

As of September 2025, this genus includes one hundred species: [1]

Formerly included:

References

  1. 1 2 "Genus Actinopus". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2 . Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 Perty, M. (1833). "Arachnides Brasilienses". In de Spix, J. B.; Martius, F. P. (eds.). Delectus animalium articulatorum quae in itinere per Braziliam ann. Monachii [München/Munich]. pp. 191–209.
  3. ↑ Miglio, Laura Tavares; Lucas, Sylvia M.; Bonaldo, Alexandre B. (2012). "On the identity of the type species of Actinopus tarsalis (Araneae: Actinopodidae)". Zoologia (Curitiba Impresso). 29 (4): 375–379. doi: 10.1590/S1984-46702012000400009 . S2CID   85091548.
  4. ↑ Simon, E. (1892). Histoire naturelle des araignées. Deuxième édition, tome premier. Roret, Paris. pp. 1–256. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51973.
  5. ↑ Raven, R. J. (1985). "The spider infraorder Mygalomorphae (Araneae): cladistics and systematics". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 182: 1–180.
  6. ↑ Pickard-Cambridge, F. O. (1896). "On the Theraphosidae of the lower Amazons: being an account of the new genera and species of this group of spiders discovered during the expedition of the steamship "Faraday" up the river Amazons". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 64 (3): 716–766. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1896.tb03076.x. hdl:2027/coo.31924018549828.
  7. ↑ Lucas, Sylvia M.; Da Silva, Jr., P. I.; Bertani, R.; Cardoso, J. L. Costa; et al. (1994-05-04). "Mygalomorph Spider Bites: A Report on 91 Cases in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  8. ↑ Mullen, Gary R.; Durden, Lance A. (2009-04-22). Medical and Veterinary Entomology. Academic Press. ISBN   978-0-08-091969-0.
  9. ↑ Bücherl, Wolfgang; Buckley, Eleanor E. (2013-09-24). Venomous Animals and Their Venoms: Venomous Invertebrates. Elsevier. ISBN   978-1-4832-6289-5.

Further reading

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