Hersilia Temporal range: | |
---|---|
A female H. yaeyamaensis from Okinawa | |
H. savignyi in Ezhimala, Payyannur, Kerala, India, 2012-05-13 | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
Class: | Arachnida |
Order: | Araneae |
Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
Family: | Hersiliidae |
Genus: | Hersilia Audouin, 1826 [1] |
Type species | |
H. caudata Audouin, 1826 | |
Species | |
78, see text |
Hersilia, also known as long-spinnereted bark spiders and two-tailed spiders, is a genus of tree trunk spiders that was first described by Jean Victoire Audouin in 1826. [2] Their nicknames are a reference to their greatly enlarged spinnerets.
Males can grow up to 8 millimetres (0.31 in) long, and females can grow up to 10 millimetres (0.39 in). They are found in Africa, Asia, and Australasia, on tree trunks, in gardens, or in jungle fringes. [1]
The revisions by Baehr & Baehr [3] and Rheims & Brescovit [4] revealed 26 species in southeast Asia. [5]
As of May 2019 [update] it contains seventy-eight species: [1]
Ground spiders comprise Gnaphosidae, the seventh largest spider family with over 2,000 described species in over 100 genera distributed worldwide. There are 105 species known to central Europe, and common genera include Gnaphosa, Drassodes, Micaria, Cesonia, Zelotes and many others. They are closely related to Clubionidae. At present, no ground spiders are known to be seriously venomous to humans.
Oonopidae, also known as goblin spiders, is a family of 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.
Hersiliidae is a tropical and subtropical family of spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1869, which are commonly known as tree trunk spiders. They have two prominent spinnerets that are almost as long as their abdomen, earning them another nickname, the "two-tailed spiders". They range in size from 10 to 18 mm long. Rather than using a web that captures prey directly, they lay a light coating of threads over an area of tree bark and wait for an insect to stray onto the patch. When this happens, they encircle their spinnerets around their prey while casting silk on it. When the insect is immobilized, they can bite it through the shroud.
Hyllus is a genus of the spider family Salticidae. Most species occur in Africa and Madagascar, with many in Australasia and north to India. H. insularis is found in Greece and Iran, but it is considered misplaced in this genus, and is now Evarcha insularis.
Scytodes is a genus of spitting spiders that occur all around the world. The most widely distributed species is Scytodes thoracica, which originally had a palearctic distribution, but has been introduced to North America, Argentina, India, Australia, and New Zealand. The genus was first described by Pierre André Latreille in 1804. Spitting spiders have pale yellow bodies with black spots on their cephalothorax, and legs that are characterized by black bands.
Thomisus is a genus of crab spiders with around 142 species described. The genus includes species that vary widely in their ecology, with some that are ambush predators that feed on insects visiting flowers. Like several other genera in the family Thomisidae, they are sometimes referred to as flower crab spiders, from their crab-like motion and their way of holding their front legs, reminiscent of a crab spreading its claws as a threat.
Hersiliola versicolor is a species of spiders of the family Hersiliidae that lives in Cape Verde. It was first described by John Blackwall in 1865 as Hersilia versicolor. The females have a total length of 3.75-4.58 mm.