Liphistiidae

Last updated

Contents

Liphistiidae
Liphistius malayanus 44930086.jpg
Liphistius malayanus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Suborder: Mesothelae
Family: Liphistiidae
Thorell, 1869 [1]
Diversity [2]
1 genus, 77 species

The spider family Liphistiidae was first recognized by Tamerlan Thorell in 1869. When narrowly circumscribed, it comprises a single genus Liphistius , native to Southeast Asia; as of April 2024, this was the circumscription accepted by the World Spider Catalog. [1] The family contains the most basal living spiders, belonging to the suborder Mesothelae. The family has also been circumscribed more broadly to include the family Heptathelidae as a subfamily, Heptathelinae. [3]

Description

Members of the Liphistiidae share features with the other Mesothelae family, Heptathelidae. They are medium to large spiders. They have downward pointing, daggerlike chelicerae. [4] Like other extant members of the suborder Mesothelae, and unlike all other extant spiders, they have a segmented series of plates (tergites) on the upper surface of all segments of the abdomen and their spinnerets are placed in the middle of the underside of the abdomen, rather than at the end. Their sternum (a plate on the underside of the cephalothorax) is narrow, and there is another smaller ventral plate (the sternite) between the fourth pair of legs. [5] The carapace is mostly flat, though it can be slightly elevated near the head. The eyes are distinctly clustered together on a single nodule. The anterior median eyes are small, but the posterior median eyes are large and round. The lateral eyes are long and kidney-shaped. The distal leg segments have strong spines and three claws. [6] The respiratory system consists only of book lungs, which could help explain why they are relatively inactive. [7] Unlike heptathelids, the male palp has a tibial apophysis. [5]

In the past, they were frequently believed to lack venom, but in 2010 it was shown that at least some Liphistius species have venom glands. [8]

Liphistiids are tube-dwelling spiders that construct rudimentary trap-doors. They spend most of their time in their tubes and are rarely seen above ground. They are active at night and live for many years. [9] Unlike members of the family Heptathelidae, Liphistiidae spiders construct signal lines radiating from the entrance to their burrows. [5] Adult males sometimes wander in search for females, but females rarely leave their burrows. [9]

Taxonomy

The family Liphistiidae was erected by Tamerlan Thorell in 1869 for the genus Liphistius. Initially, it was the only family placed in the suborder Mesothelae. In 1923, Kyukichi Kishida described a new genus, Heptathela , and suggested creating two tribes within the Liphistiidae corresponding to the genera Liphistius and Heptathela. [10] In 1939, Alexander Petrunkevitch raised the tribe Heptatheleae to a separate family, Heptathelidae, thus restoring the narrower circumscription of the Liphistiidae. In 1985, Robert Raven reunited the two families, [11] a view supported by Breitling in 2022. [12] Other authors have maintained two separate families, [13] [14] a position accepted by the World Spider Catalog as of April 2024. [15]

Liphistius, the sole genus in the narrowly circumscribed family Liphistiidae, is found mainly in Southeast Asia (Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Sumatra), with a few species found in China. [1] The Heptathelidae are found further north: five genera in northern Vietnam and China and two genera in Japan and offshore islands (Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands). [16]

Phylogeny

Molecular phylogenetic studies have repeatedly shown that the suborder Mesothelae is monophyletic, at least as regards extant (living) species, with the two families forming separate clades: [14]

Mesothelae
Liphistiidae

Liphistius

Heptathelidae

7 genera

Genera

As of April 2024, the World Spider Catalog accepted the narrow circumscription of the family Liphistiidae, in which it contains only one genus: [1]

One genus of fossil spiders, Cretaceothele Wunderlich, 2015, was originally placed in this family, [17] but it was subsequently transferred to the separate family Cretaceothelidae. [18]

Fossil record

While some Carboniferous fossil spiders have been assigned to Mesothelae, the only fossil to be explicitly placed in the family Liphistiidae is Cretaceothele lata Wunderlich, 2015 from the Cretaceous Burmese amber of Myanmar. The fossil genus was diagnosed as having an eye-field wider than that in living species. [17] It was later placed in its own, monotypic family.

Related Research Articles

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

The family Dipluridae, known as curtain-web spiders are a group of spiders in the infraorder Mygalomorphae, that have two pairs of booklungs, and chelicerae (fangs) that move up and down in a stabbing motion. A number of genera, including that of the Sydney funnel-web spider (Atrax), used to be classified in this family but have now been moved to Atracidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mesothelae</span> Suborder of spiders

The Mesothelae are a suborder of spiders. As of April 2024, two extant families were accepted by the World Spider Catalog, Liphistiidae and Heptathelidae. Alternatively, the Heptathelidae can be treated as a subfamily of a more broadly circumscribed Liphistiidae. There are also a number of extinct families.

<i>Heptathela</i> Genus of trapdoor spiders

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Araneida</span> Suborder of spiders

Araneida is a subgroup of Tetrapulmonata. It was originally defined by Jörg Wunderlich in 2015 as a subgroup of Araneae, including all true spiders, with Wunderlich also including Uraraneida within Araneae. Araneida was redefined by Wunderlich in 2019 to include all modern spiders (Araneae), as well as Chimerarachnida, but excluding Uraraneida. Chimerarachnida and Araneae both possess spinnerets, which are absent in Uraraneida. Uraraneida and Araneida are grouped together in the clade Serikodiastida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opisthothelae</span> Suborder of spiders

Opisthothelae is a suborder of spiders within the order Araneae, containing Mygalomorphae and Araneomorphae, but excluding Mesothelae. The Opisthothelae are sometimes presented as an unranked clade and sometimes as a suborder of Araneae. In the latter case, Mygalomorphae and Araneomorphae are treated as infraorders.

<i>Liphistius</i> Genus of trapdoor spider

Liphistius is a genus of basal trapdoor spiders in the family Liphistiidae. They are found in Japan, China, and Southeast Asia.

<i>Mongolarachne</i> Extinct genus of spiders

Mongolarachne is an extinct genus of spiders placed in the monogeneric family Mongolarachnidae. The genus contains only one species, Mongolarachne jurassica, described in 2013, which is presently the largest fossilized spider on record. The type species was originally described as Nephila jurassica and placed in the living genus Nephila which contains the golden silk orb-weavers.

<i>Ryuthela</i> Genus of spiders

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.

Burmesarchaea is a diverse extinct genus of spiders, placed in the family Archaeidae. The type species Burmesarchaea grimaldii was first described in 2003 and least 13 more species have been assigned to the genus. The genus has been exclusively found in Cretaceous Burmese amber, which is dated to 99 million years ago.

<i>Qiongthela</i> Genus of spiders

Qiongthela is a genus of spiders in the family Heptathelidae. As of 2021, it contains 14 species.

Microsynotaxus is a genus of Australian araneomorph spiders in the family Physoglenidae that was first described by J. Wunderlich in 2008. As of September 2019 it contains two species, both found in Queensland: M. calliope and M. insolens.

<i>Leviellus</i> Genus of spiders

Leviellus, synonym Stroemiellus, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by J. Wunderlich in 2004.

Macarophaeus is a genus of European ground spiders that was first described by J. Wunderlich in 2011. As of May 2019 it contains only three species: M. cultior, M. insignis, and M. varius.

Achaeridion is a monotypic genus of comb-footed spiders containing the single species, Achaeridion conigerum. It was first described by J. Wunderlich in 2008, and is found in Europe.

Tamanidion is a monotypic genus of Asian comb-footed spiders containing the single species, Tamanidion multidenticuli. It was first described by J. Wunderlich in 2011, and is found in Malaysia.

<i>Chimerarachne</i> Extinct genus of spider-like arachnids

Chimerarachne is a genus of extinct arachnids, containing five species. Fossils of Chimerarachne were discovered in Burmese amber from Myanmar which dates to the mid-Cretaceous, about 100 million years ago. It is thought to be closely related to spiders, but outside any living spider clade. The earliest spider fossils are from the Carboniferous, requiring at least a 170 myr ghost lineage with no fossil record. The size of the animal is quite small, being only 2.5 millimetres (0.098 in) in body length, with the tail being about 3 millimetres (0.12 in) in length. These fossils resemble spiders in having two of their key defining features: spinnerets for spinning silk, and a modified male organ on the pedipalp for transferring sperm. At the same time they retain a whip-like tail, rather like that of a whip scorpion and uraraneids. Chimerarachne is not ancestral to spiders, being much younger than the oldest spiders which are known from the Carboniferous, but it appears to be a late survivor of an extinct group which was probably very close to the origins of spiders. It suggests that there used to be spider-like animals with tails which lived alongside true spiders for at least 200 million years.

Priscaleclercera is a genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Psilodercidae, containing seven species. The genus was first described by Jorge Wunderlich in 2017, and its fossils have been found in Burmese amber, while live specimens have been found in Indonesia (Sulawesi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lagonomegopidae</span> Extinct family of spiders

Lagonomegopidae is an extinct family of spiders known from the Cretaceous period. Members of the family are distinguished by a large pair of eyes, positioned on the anterolateral flanks of the carapace, with the rest of the eyes being small. They have generally been considered members of Palpimanoidea, but this has recently been questioned. Members of the family are known from the late Early Cretaceous (Albian) to near the end of the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of Eurasia, North America and the Middle East, which was then attached to Africa as part of Gondwana. They are generally assumed to have been free living hunters as opposed to web builders.

Jörg Wunderlich is a German arachnologist and palaeontologist. He is best known for his study of spiders in amber, describing over 1000 species, 300 genera, 50 tribes/subfamilies and 18 families in over 180 publications. Unlike most other arachnologists Jörg has never held any academic position and has worked as a private individual with no financial support for travel or equipment.

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

Heptathelidae is a family of spiders. It has been sunk within the family Liphistiidae, but as of April 2024 was accepted by the World Spider Catalog. It is placed in suborder Mesothelae, which contains the most basal living spiders.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Family Liphistiidae Thorell, 1869 (genus list)", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 2024-04-24
  2. ↑ "Currently valid spider genera and species", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 2024-04-24
  3. ↑ Xu, X.; et al. (2015). "A genus-level taxonomic review of primitively segmented spiders (Mesothelae, Liphistiidae)". ZooKeys (488): 121–151. Bibcode:2015ZooK..488..121X. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.488.8726 . PMC   4389128 . PMID   25878527.
  4. ↑ Haupt, J. (2004). "The Mesothelae - a monograph of an exceptional group of spiders (Araneae: Mesothelae)". Zoologica. 154 (8). ISBN   3-510-55041-2. ISSN   0044-5088.
  5. 1 2 3 Xin, Xu; Liu, Fengxiang; Chen, Jian; Ono, Hirotsugu; Li, Daiqin & Kuntner, Matjaž (2015-03-21). "A genus-level taxonomic review of primitively segmented spiders (Mesothelae, Liphistiidae)". ZooKeys (488): 121–151. Bibcode:2015ZooK..488..121X. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.488.8726 .
  6. ↑ Song, D.X.; Zhu, M.S.; Chen, J. (1999). The Spiders of China. Hebei University of Science and Technology Publishing House, Shijazhuang.
  7. ↑ Coddington, J.A.; Levi, H.W. (1991). "Systematics and Evolution of Spiders (Araneae)". Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 22: 565–592. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.22.110191.003025.
  8. ↑ Foelix, R. & Erb, B. (2010). "Short communication: Mesothelae have venom glands". The Journal of Arachnology. 38: 596–598. doi:10.1636/b10-30.1. S2CID   85870366.
  9. 1 2 Murphy, Frances; Murphy, John (2000). An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Malaysian Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur.
  10. ↑ Kishida, K. (1923). "Heptathela, a new genus of liphistiid spiders". Annotationes Zoologicae Japonenses. 10: 235–242 – via World Spider Catalog.
  11. ↑ Raven, R. J. (1985). "The spider infraorder Mygalomorphae (Araneae): cladistics and systematics". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 182: 1–180 – via World Spider Catalog.
  12. ↑ Breitling, R. (2022). "On the taxonomic rank of the major subdivisions of the extant segmented spiders (Arachnida: Araneae: Mesothelae: Liphistiidae s. lat.)". Miscellanea Araneologica. 2022: 1–4 – via World Spider Catalog.
  13. ↑ Li, S. Q. (2022). "On the taxonomy of spiders of the suborder Mesothelae". Acta Arachnologica Sinica. 31 (1): 71–72. doi:10.3969/j.issn.1005-9628.2022.01.013.
  14. 1 2 Kulkarni, S.; Wood, H. M. & Hormiga, G. (2023). "Advances in the reconstruction of the spider tree of life: a roadmap for spider systematics and comparative studies". Cladistics. 39 (6): 479–532. doi:10.1111/cla.12557. PMID   37787157.
  15. ↑ "Family: Heptathelidae Kishida, 1923)". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  16. ↑ Xu, Xin; Liu, Fengxiang; Cheng, Ren-Chung; Chen, Jian; Xu, Xiang; Zhang, Zhisheng; Ono, Hirotsugu; Pham, Dinh Sac; Norma-Rashid, Y.; Arnedo, Miquel A.; Kuntner, Matjaž & Li, Daiqin (2015). "Extant primitively segmented spiders have recently diversified from an ancient lineage". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 282 (1808): 20142486. doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.2486. PMC   4455790 . PMID   25948684.
  17. 1 2 Wunderlich, Jörg (2015). "On the evolution and classification of spiders, the Mesozoic spider faunas, and descriptions of new Cretaceous taxa mainly in amber from Myanmar (Burma) (Arachnida: Araneae)". Beiträge zur Araneologie. 9: 21–408.
  18. ↑ Jörg Wunderlich (2017). "New and rare fossil spiders (Araneae) in mid Cretaceous amber from Myanmar (Burma), including the description of new extinct families of the suborders Mesothelae and Opisthothelae as well as notes on the taxonomy, the evolution and the biogeography of the Mesothelae". In Jörg Wunderlich (ed.). Beiträge zur Araneologie, 10. pp. 72–279.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.