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