Ctenizidae is a small family of mygalomorph spiders that construct burrows with a cork-like trapdoor made of soil, vegetation, and silk. They may be called trapdoor spiders, as are other, similar species, such as those of the families Liphistiidae, Barychelidae, and Cyrtaucheniidae, and some species in the Idiopidae and Nemesiidae. The name comes from the distinctive behavior of the spiders to construct trapdoors, and ambush prey from beneath them.
The family Cyrtaucheniidae, known as wafer-lid trapdoor spiders, are a widespread family of Mygalomorphae spiders.
Angelina Jolie is an American film actress
Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi is a species of spider in the family Euctenizidae, described in 2007 by East Carolina University professor of biology Jason E. Bond and Norman I. Platnick, curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. It is named after Canadian rock musician Neil Young.
Myrmekiaphila is a genus of North American mygalomorph trapdoor spiders in the family Euctenizidae, and was first described by G. F. Atkinson in 1886. All described species are endemic to the southeastern United States.
Jason E. Bond is an American biologist working as a Professor of Entomology and the Schlinger Chair in Insect Systematics at the University of California, Davis.
Aptostichus stephencolberti is a species of spider in the family Euctenizidae, named after the American satirist Stephen Colbert. The spider was discovered on the California coastline in 2007.
Aptostichus is a genus of North American mygalomorph spiders in the family Euctenizidae, and was first described by Eugène Simon in 1891. They are found predominantly in southern California, United States.
Aptostichus miwok is a species of spiders in the family Euctenizidae named after the Coast Miwok Indian tribe known to have inhabited the coastal areas of California from the Golden Gate northward prior to European settlement. It is similar to the Aptostichus angelinajolieae named after actress Angelina Jolie and Aptostichus stephencolberti named after satirist Stephen Colbert described by the same author.
Aptostichus bonoi, or Bono's Joshua Tree trapdoor spider, is a morphological species of Euctenizidae spiders, nocturnal arthropods who seize their prey after leaping out of their burrows and inject it with venom. The species was found in Joshua Tree National Park, California, and described by the Auburn University professor Jason Bond in 2012. Only seven species of Aptostichus were known prior to 2012, including the Angelina Jolie trapdoor spider.
Aptostichus barackobamai, the Barack Obama trapdoor spider, is a species of spider in the family Euctenizidae named after the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama. The species was first reported by Professor Jason Bond of Auburn University in December 2012 as one of 33 new species of the genus Aptostichus.
The Euctenizidae are a family of mygalomorph spiders. They are now considered to be more closely related to Idiopidae.
Eucteniza is a genus of trapdoor spiders in the family Euctenizidae containing at least 14 species occurring in Mexico and the southern United States. Species are distinguished by a softened rear portion of the carapace, and males possess large spines on the first two pairs of walking legs that are used to hold females during mating. Like other trapdoor spiders they create burrows with a hinged lid, from which they await passing insects and other arthropods to prey upon. Many species are known from only one or two localities, or from only male specimens. More species are expected to be discovered. Eucteniza is closely related to spiders of the genera Entychides and Neoapachella.
Apomastus is a genus of North American mygalomorph spiders in the family Euctenizidae, and was first described by Jason Bond & B. D. Opell in 2002. As of May 2019 it contains only two species, both found in the Los Angeles Basin of southern California: A. kristenae and A. schlingeri.
Promyrmekiaphila clathrata is a species of wafer-lid trapdoor spider in the family Euctenizidae that is endemic to the state of California in the United States. Its range is restricted to the central and northern California Coast Ranges, from San Benito County to Glenn County. Like its sister species, C. winnemem, it can be distinguished from species in similar genera by the dusky chevron pattern on its abdomen. It prefers vegetated, mesic habitats that retain some moisture, where it builds burrows in soil up to 30 cm deep. Like other members of this family, it covers its burrow entrance with a door made of silk and soil.
Aptostichus atomarius, the San Bernardino hills trapdoor spider, is a species of wafer-lid trapdoor spider in the family Euctenizidae. It is found in the United States.
Avicularioidea is a clade of mygalomorph spiders, one of the two main clades into which mygalomorphs are divided. It has been treated at the rank of superfamily.
Domiothelina is a clade of avicularioid mygalomorph spiders first proposed by Robert J. Raven in 1985, based on a morphological cladistic analysis. Raven characterized the clade by a number of shared features, including the domed apical segment of the posterior lateral spinnerets. The clade has been supported to some degree by subsequent molecular analyses, although with a somewhat different composition.
