Equidae is the taxonomic family of horses and related animals, including the extant horses, donkeys, and zebras, and many other species known only from fossils. All extant species are in the genus Equus. Equidae belongs to the order Perissodactyla, which includes the extant tapirs and rhinoceros, and several extinct families.
The true owls or typical owls are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls (Tytonidae). The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy unites the Caprimulgiformes with the owl order; here, the typical owls are a subfamily Striginae. This is unsupported by more recent research, but the relationships of the owls in general are still unresolved. This large family comprises nearly 220 living species in 25 genera. The typical owls have a cosmopolitan distribution and are found on every continent except Antarctica.
Laridae is a family of seabirds in the order Charadriiformes that includes the gulls, terns and skimmers. It includes around 100 species arranged into 22 genera. They are an adaptable group of mostly aerial birds found worldwide.
The Geoemydidae are one of the largest and most diverse families in the order Testudines (turtles), with about 70 species. The family includes the Eurasian pond and river turtles and Neotropical wood turtles.
The wafer trapdoor spiders, family Cyrtaucheniidae, are a widespread family of spiders that lack the thorn-like spines on tarsi and metatarsi I and II found in true trapdoor spiders (Ctenizidae).
The spider family Deinopidae consists of stick-like elongate spiders that build unusual webs that they suspend between the front legs. When prey approaches, the spider will stretch the net to two or three times its relaxed size and propel itself onto the prey, entangling it in the web. Because of this, they are also called net-casting spiders. Their excellent night-vision adapted posterior median eyes allow them to cast this net over potential prey items. These eyes are so large in comparison to the other six eyes that the spider seems to have only two eyes.
Oonopidae is a family of spiders commonly known as goblin spiders, consisting of over 1,600 described species in about 113 genera worldwide, with total species diversity estimated at 2000 to 2500 species. The type genus of the family is OonopsKeyserling, 1835.
The scaffold web spiders of the family Nesticidae, are closely allied with the Theridiidae, or tangle web spiders. Like the Theridiidae, these spiders have a comb of serrated bristles on the hind tarsi that are used to pull silk bands from the spinnerets. It contains 15 genera and about 280 species, many of which are associated with caves or overhangs. The genus Nesticus is the type for the family and is found throughout the world. The related Eidmannella has speciated considerably in Texas caves and includes some extremely localized species that are considered threatened. One species, Eidmannella pallida, is found in caves and under overhangs, but also in agricultural fields and other habitats away from such restricted areas. The genus Carpathonesticus is found in central Eurasia.
Arthur Gardiner Butler was an English entomologist, arachnologist and ornithologist. He worked at the British Museum working on the taxonomy of birds, insects, and spiders.
Tube-dwelling anemones or ceriantharians look very similar to sea anemones but belong to an entirely different subclass of anthozoans. They are solitary, living buried in soft sediments. Tube anemones live inside and can withdraw into tubes, which are composed of a fibrous material made from secreted mucus and threads of nematocyst-like organelles known as ptychocysts. Ceriantharians were formerly classified in the taxon Ceriantipatharia along with the black corals but have since been moved to their own subclass, Ceriantharia.
Antrodiaetidae is a small spider family, known as folding trapdoor spiders. There are about 35 species in two genera. They are related to the Atypidae.
Periegops is a genus of spiders, the only genus in the family Periegopidae, with three described species. Periegops had been long considered to be members of Sicariidae or Segestriidae until Raymond Forster elevated them to the family level in 1995.
Porrhothele is a mygalomorph spider genus with five described species, all endemic to New Zealand. Before 1980, this genus was considered to belong to the family Dipluridae; later it was moved to Hexathelidae. In 2018, it was placed in its own family, Porrhothelidae.
The Myuchelys is a genus of turtles, the Australian saw-shelled turtles, in the family Chelidae and subfamily Chelodininae. They inhabit the headwaters and tributaries of rivers within their range and this led to the name Myuchelys, which is formed from the Aboriginal word myuna meaning clear water and the Greek chelys meaning turtle. They have a short neck and the intergular scute completely separates the gular scutes. They have no alveolar ridge separating them from the snapping turtles of the genus Elseya.
Spiders of the ecribellate haplogyne family Caponiidae are unusual in a number of ways. They differ from other spiders in lacking book lungs and having the posterior median spinnerets anteriorly displaced to form a transverse row with the anterior lateral spinnerets. Most species have only two eyes, which is also unusual among spiders. A few species of Caponiidae variously have four, six or eight eyes. In some species the number of eyes will increase when the spiderling changes its skin as it grows towards adulthood.
Holotheria are a diverse group of mammals that are descendants of the last common ancestor of Kuehneotherium and Theria.
John Ernest "Jack" Randall is an American ichthyologist and a leading authority on coral reef fishes. Randall has described over 600 species and has authored 11 books and over 670 scientific papers and popular articles. He has spent most of his career working in Hawaii.
Penestomus is a genus of spiders comprising about nine species. It is the only genus in the family Penestomidae. The genus was formerly included in the family Eresidae, but was elevated to its own family in 2010. It is now considered closer to Zodariidae.
Udubidae is a family of araneomorph spiders, most of whose members were formerly placed in the family Zorocratidae, which is no longer accepted.
Synotaxus is a genus of spiders first described in 1895 by Simon. It is the only genus in the family Synotaxidae.
