Leucorchestris arenicola, commonly called the dancing white lady spider, is a huntsman spider in the family Sparassidae and genus Leucorchestris. It is commonly found in the Namib desert of Namibia. It is often mistaken with the similarly named Carparachne aureoflava, or more commonly known as the wheel spider from the same location. L. arenicola relies on seismic vibrations, called drumming, for communication. It taps its foremost legs on the sand to send messages to other white lady spiders. Male L. arenicola will travel over 50 m in one night searching for a mate. If they find a mate, they must be extremely careful, for drumming the wrong message can be deadly. One of the major features that characterizes its nocturnal behavior is its specialized vision, using eight eyes in different orientations to capture a panoramic view of the surroundings. L. arenicola spiders use temporal summation in order to be able to see dim lighting during night-time wanderings. The species was first described by Reginald Frederick Lawrence in 1962, who described all the species in the genus Leucorchestris.
Velvet spiders are a small group of spiders almost entirely limited to the Old World, with the exception of one species known from Brazil. In Europe, some are commonly called the ladybird 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.
Eresus, also called ladybird spiders, is a genus of velvet spiders that was first described by Charles Athanase Walckenaer in 1805. Members of the genus formerly called Eresus cinnaberinus or Eresus niger are now placed in one of three species: Eresus kollari, Eresus sandaliatus and Eresus moravicus.
Palpimanidae, also known as palp-footed spiders, is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1890. They are widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, the Mediterranean and one in Uzbekistan, but not Australia. They are not common and there is a high degree of endemism.
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. Their nicknames are a reference to their greatly enlarged spinnerets.
Eresus kollari, the ladybird spider, is a spider species in the family Eresidae. It was first described by Walckenaer in 1802, though it was misidentified. It was later correctly described by Rossi in 1846. It is one of the three species into which Eresus cinnaberinus or Eresus niger has been divided. It is thought to be endangered.
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all orders of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except for Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every land habitat. As of November 2023, 51,673 spider species in 136 families have been recorded by taxonomists. However, there has been debate among scientists about how families should be classified, with over 20 different classifications proposed since 1900.
This glossary describes the terms used in formal descriptions of spiders; where applicable these terms are used in describing other arachnids.
Loureedia is a genus of velvet spiders that was first described by J. A. Miller in 2012. As of July 2020, it contained four species: L. annulipes, L. colleni, L. lucasi and L. phoenixi. This genus of velvet spiders that live underground are named after Lou Reed, guitarist and singer for the Velvet Underground. In 2020, researchers discovered the fourth species, L. phoenixi, in Iran.
Stegodyphus sarasinorum, also known as the Indian cooperative spider, is a species of velvet spider of the family Eresidae. It is native to India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Myanmar. This spider is a social spider that exhibits communal predation and feeding, where individuals live in large cooperatively built colonies with a nest or retreat constructed of silk woven using leaves, twigs, and food carcasses, and a sheet web for prey capture.
Paradonea is a genus of African velvet spiders that was first described by R. F. Lawrence in 1968.
Cladomelea is a genus of African orb-weaver spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1895. Adult females of the genus are bolas spiders, capturing their prey with one or more sticky drops at the end of a single line of silk rather than in a web. Males and juvenile females capture their prey directly with their legs.
Mexcala vicina is a species of jumping spider in the genus Mexcala that is endemic to South Africa, found in Mpumalanga. The spider was first defined in 2009 by Wanda Wesołowska, one of over 500 that the arachnologist described during her career. It mimics ants and ant-like wasps, living alongside and preying upon them. The spider is medium-sized, with a dark brown carapace typically 2.5 mm (0.098 in) long and a brown abdomen between 2.3 and 2.7 mm long. The abdomen has a pattern made up of three dark streaks in a triangular shape. The male has a straight embolus. The female has not been identified.
Paradonea presleyi is a species of araneomorph spiders in the family Eresidae.
Seothyra fasciata, one of the buck spoor spiders, is a sand-dwelling species of Eresidae. It is native to southern Africa.
Stegodyphus dumicola, commonly known as the African social spider, is a species of spider of the family Eresidae, or the velvet spider family. It is native to Central and southern Africa. This spider is one of three Stegodyphus spiders that lives a social lifestyle. This spider has been studied living in large natal colonies in large, unkempt webs. Each colony is composed mainly of females, where a minority act as reproducers, and a majority remain childless and take care of the young. Males live a shorter lifespan, during which they will largely remain in the natal nest. Females are known for extreme allomaternal care, since all females – even unmated virgin ones – will take care of the young until they are eventually consumed by the brood.
Cladomelea debeeri is a species of spider in the orb-weaver spider family Araneidae, found in South Africa. It was first described in 2004. Cladomelea species, including C. debeeri, are "bolas spiders" – adult females capture their prey by using one or more sticky drops on the end of a line which they swing, usually catching male moths attracted by the release of an analogue of the attractant sex pheromone produced by the female moth. Juvenile and adult male bolas spiders do not use a bolas, catching prey with their legs alone.
Asemonea stella is a species of jumping spider in the genus Asemonea that lives in Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania, and has been introduced to Australia. It thrives in a wide range of environments, from open farmland to semi-aquatic vegetation. The spider was first defined in 1980 by Fred Wanless. The spider is small, between 3.1 and 3.64 mm long, the female being generally larger than the male. It has a carapace that is pear-shaped and either yellow in the case of the male or green in the case of the female, measuring between 1.28 and 1.46 mm in length.The abdomen is whiter, between 1.28 and 1.46 mm long and has a distinctive star-shaped pattern on the back. Its copulatory organs help differentiate the species, particularly the furrow on the femoral apophysis of the male palpal bulb and the shallow depression in the middle of the female epigyne.
