| Qiongthela | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Suborder: | Mesothelae |
| Family: | Heptathelidae |
| Genus: | Qiongthela Xu & Kuntner, 2015 [1] |
| Species | |
Qiongthela is a genus of spiders in the family Heptathelidae. [2] As of 2021 [update] , it contains 14 species. [1] [3]
Qiongthela gets its name from "Qiong-" referring to Hainan Province, China (where some species of this genus are found). "-thela" comes from the Ancient Greek "θηλη" meaning "nipple-like protuberance", referring to the spinnerets. This "-thela" suffix is a tradition for heptatheline genera. [4]
Qiongthela ranges in size from 13-31mm in length (excluding the chelicerae). The male's palp has a long, blade-like conductor with a slightly hook-like apex. The tegulum has two margins and the paracymbium is spinose.
Females have two paired receptacular clusters, situated on the anterior edge of the bursa copulatrix.
These primitive spiders live in burrows with trapdoors at the entrance. These trapdoors are 3.3 cm wide and 2.5 cm long for females and the males' trapdoors are 2.0-2.3 cm wide and 1.5-1.8 cm long. The hinges of the trapdoor are located at the top and the bottom protrudes slightly. The spiders prefer not to rest near the top of the burrow and will not be coaxed out by flexible grass blades, which will often coax out other genera in the family, e.g. Liphistius.
Egg cases of this genus contain yellow eggs and have more than one hundred individual eggs in them. They are coated in a thin layer of coagulated vulval secretion and some fine silken threads. This structure rests on a mesh of fine threads above the bottom of the inner chamber of the egg case.
When medium to large-sized individuals are disturbed, they rise their bodies up off the ground whilst keeping their tarsi on the ground and spreading their chelicerae. This behaviour is known as "tip-toeing". [5]
Qiongthela is found only in Asia. As of January 2021 [update] , the World Spider Catalog accepted 14 species. [1] [3]
The Mesothelae are a suborder of spiders that includes a single extant family, Liphistiidae, and a number of extinct families. This suborder is thought to form the sister group to all other living spiders, and to retain ancestral characters, such as a segmented abdomen with spinnerets in the middle and two pairs of book lungs. Members of Liphistiidae are medium to large spiders with eight eyes grouped on a tubercle. They are found only in China, Japan, and southeast Asia. The oldest known Mesothelae spiders are known from the Carboniferous, over 300 million years ago.
The spider family Liphistiidae, recognized by Tamerlan Thorell in 1869, when broadly circumscribed to include two subfamilies, comprises 8 genera and about 100 species of medium-sized spiders from Southeast Asia, China, and Japan. They are among the most basal living spiders, belonging to the suborder Mesothelae. In Japan, the Kimura spider is well known. In 2022, it was proposed to re-accept the subfamily Heptathelinae as the family Heptathelidae. As of December 2023, this proposal was accepted by the World Spider Catalog. In this circumscription, the family Liphistiidae has only one genus, Liphistius.
Heptathela is a genus of spiders that includes the Kimura spider. They are trapdoor spiders of the family Heptathelidae and are found in Japan, including Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands. Spiders of this genus lack venom glands.
Barychelidae, also known as brushed trapdoor spiders, is a spider family with about 300 species in 39 genera.
Atypus, also called purseweb spiders, is a genus of atypical tarantulas first described by Pierre André Latreille in 1804. It occurs in Eurasia, with one species reaching into North Africa. Only three of the described species occur in Europe: A. piceus, A. affinis, and A. muralis. Specimens from the USA formerly known as A. snetsingeri represent an introduced population of A. karschi.
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.
Cyclocosmia is a genus of mygalomorph trapdoor spiders in the family Halonoproctidae, first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871. Originally placed with the Ctenizidae, when the family split in 2018, this genus was placed with the Halonoproctidae as the type genus. The name is derived from the Greek "kyklos" (κυκλος), meaning "circle", and "kosmeo" (κοσμεω), meaning "to adorn".
Liphistius is a genus of basal trapdoor spiders in the family Liphistiidae. They are found in Japan, China, and Southeast Asia.
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.
Sinopoda is a genus of Asian huntsman spiders that was first described by Peter Jäger in 1999.
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.
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.
Grandilithus is a genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Phrurolithidae. It was first described by Liu & Li in 2022.
Heptathelidae is a family of spiders. It was formerly sunk within the family Liphistiidae, but as of December 2023 was accepted by the World Spider Catalog.