| Cryptachaea | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Female C. projectivulva | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Theridiidae |
| Genus: | Cryptachaea Archer, 1946 |
| Type species | |
| Theridion catapetraeum Gertsch & Archer, 1942 | |
| Species | |
See text | |
| Diversity | |
| ca. 90 species [1] | |
Cryptachaea is a genus of spiders in the Theridiidae (tangle web spider) family. [1]
Many species in this genus used to reside in Achaearanea , [1] which received a major revision in 2008 by Hajime Yoshida. [2] The genus was originally established as a subgenus of Theridion . [1] [2]
This is mostly a New World genus, with many species in South America. One species is cosmopolitan, one species occurs in the whole Palearctic, another only in China. [1] C. veruculata was introduced to Europe from New Zealand.
The genus name is a combination of Achaea, the old name of the genus Achaearanea, and Ancient Greek κρυπτός "hidden". The genus is called Iwama-himegumo zoku in Japanese. [2]