Hersilia (spider)

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Hersilia
Temporal range: Palaeogene–present
Hersilia.yaeyamaensis.female.-.takinawa.jpg
A female H. yaeyamaensis from Okinawa
Two Tailed Spider (Hersilia savignyi).JPG
H. savignyi in Ezhimala, Payyannur, Kerala, India, 2012-05-13
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
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.

Contents

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]

Species

The revisions by Baehr & Baehr [3] and Rheims & Brescovit [4] revealed 26 species in southeast Asia. [5]

As of May 2019 it contains seventy-eight species: [1]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oonopidae</span> Family of spiders

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tree trunk spider</span> Family of spiders

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.

<i>Hyllus</i> (spider) Genus of spiders

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.

<i>Scytodes</i> Genus of spiders

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.

<i>Thomisus</i> Genus of spiders

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Gen. Hersilia Audouin, 1826". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. 2019. doi:10.24436/2 . Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  2. Audouin, V. (1826), "Explication sommaire des planches d'arachnides de l'Égypte et de la Syrie", Description de l'Égypte, ou recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée franҫaise, publié par les ordres de sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand, vol. 1, Histoire Naturelle
  3. Baehr, M.; Baehr, B. (1993). "The Hersiliidae of the Oriental Region including New Guinea. Taxonomy, phylogeny, zoogeography (Arachnida, Araneae)". Spixiana Supplement. 19: 1–96.
  4. Rheims, C.A.; Brescovit, Antonio D. (2004). "Description of four new species of Hersiliidae (Arachnida, Araneae) from Kinabalu National Park, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia". Journal of Natural History. 38 (22): 2851–2861. Bibcode:2004JNatH..38.2851R. doi:10.1080/00222930310001657694. S2CID   85017478.
  5. Baehr, Barbara. "Long-Spinnered Bark Spiders". Australian Arachnological Society. Retrieved 2008-12-07.