Heptathela

Heptathela
Heptathela kimurai
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Suborder:	Mesothelae
Family:	Liphistiidae
Subfamily:	Heptathelinae
Genus:	Heptathela Kishida, 1923 [1]
Species
See text
Diversity [1]
20 species

Heptathela is a genus of spiders that includes the Kimura spider (Heptathela kimurai). They are trapdoor spiders of the subfamily Heptathelinae, ^[2] family Liphistiidae. ^[1] The genus is found in Japan, including Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands. ^[1] Spiders of this genus lack venom glands. ^[3]

Females are up to 25 mm long, males slightly smaller. Burrows have an oval shaped door which is hinged across the long diameter. ^[4]

Name

The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek hepta "seven", referring to the number of spinneret glands.

Species

As of January 2022 ^[update] , the World Spider Catalog accepted the following species: ^[1]

• Heptathela aha Xu, Ono, Kuntner, Liu & Li, 2019 – Ryukyu Is.
• Heptathela amamiensis Haupt, 1983 – Ryukyu Is.
• Heptathela crypta Xu, Ono, Kuntner, Liu & Li, 2019 – Ryukyu Is.
• Heptathela gayozan Xu, Ono, Kuntner, Liu & Li, 2019 – Ryukyu Is.
• Heptathela helios Tanikawa & Miyashita, 2014 (synonym H. yaginumaiOno, 1998) – Japan
• Heptathela higoensis Haupt, 1983 – Japan
• Heptathela kanenoi Ono, 1996 – Ryukyu Is.
• Heptathela kikuyai Ono, 1998 – Japan
• Heptathela kimurai (Kishida, 1920) (type species) – Japan
• Heptathela kojima Xu et al., 2019 – Ryukyu Is.
• Heptathela kubayama Xu et al., 2019 – Ryukyu Is.
• Heptathela mae Xu et al., 2019 – Ryukyu Is.
• Heptathela otoha Xu et al., 2019 – Ryukyu Is.
• Heptathela shuri Xu et al., 2019 – Ryukyu Is.
• Heptathela sumiyo Xu et al., 2019 – Ryukyu Is.
• Heptathela tokashiki Xu et al., 2019 – Ryukyu Is.
• Heptathela uken Xu et al., 2019 – Ryukyu Is.
• Heptathela unten Xu et al., 2019 – Ryukyu Is.
• Heptathela yakushimaensis Ono, 1998 – Japan
• Heptathela yanbaruensis Haupt, 1983 – Okinawa

Many of the species formerly placed in this genus have been transferred to other genera in the family Liphistiidae, including Luthela , Songthela and Vinathela . ^[1]

Social reference

This is the genus of spider referenced by Vincent Price in the introduction to Alice Cooper's The Black Widow on his Welcome to my Nightmare album.^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. "Gen. Heptathela Kishida, 1923". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
2. Sivayyapram, Varat; Kunsete, Chawakorn; Xu, Xin; Smith, Deborah R.; Traiyasut, Prapun; Deowanish, Sureerat; Li, Daiqin & Warrit, Natapot (2024). "Molecular phylogeny, biogeography, and species delimitation of segmented spider genus Liphistius (Araneae: Liphistiidae) in Thailand". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 201 (2): 339–357. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad149.
3. Forster, R. R. & Platnick, N. I. (1984). "A review of the archaeid spiders and their relatives, with notes on the limits of the superfamily Palpimanoidea (Arachnida, Araneae)". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 178: 1–106. hdl:2246/991. Full text at "A review of the archaeid spiders and their relatives" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-10-13. (60 MB)
4. Murphy, Frances & Murphy, John (2000). An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Nature Society. ISBN   978-983-9681-17-8.

External links

• Data related to Heptathela at Wikispecies
• Pictures of H. kimurai and its burrow