Barychelidae

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brushed-footed trap-door spiders
Temporal range: Neogene–present
Sason robustum with nest
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Clade: Avicularioidea
Family: Barychelidae
Simon, 1889
Diversity
39 genera, 285 species

Barychelidae, also known as brushed trapdoor spiders, is a spider family with about 300 species in 39 genera.[1]

Behaviour[edit]

Most spiders in this family build trapdoor burrows. For example, the 20 millimetres (0.79 in) long Sipalolasma builds its burrow in rotted wood, with a hinged trapdoor at each end. The 10 millimetres (0.39 in) long Idioctis builds its burrow approximately 5 centimetres (2.0 in) deep, just below the high tide level, sealing the opening with a thin trapdoor.[2]

Some species avoid flooding by plugging their burrows, while others can avoid drowning by trapping air bubbles within the hairs covering their bodies.[3][example needed] Some members of this group have a rake on the front surface of their chelicerae used for compacting burrow walls.[4] These spiders can run up glass like tarantulas, and some can stridulate, though it isn't audible to humans.[5]

Distribution[edit]

Barychelids are found in Australia, New Caledonia, South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, New Guinea, and Pacific islands.[1]

Genera[edit]

As of November 2023, the World Spider Catalog accepts the following genera:[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Family: Barychelidae Simon, 1889". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  2. ^ Murphy, Frances; Murphy, John (2000). An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Nature Society.
  3. ^ Bristowe, W.S. (September 1930). "XXXIV.— Notes on the biology of spiders .—II. Aquatic spiders". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 6 (33): 343–347. doi:10.1080/00222933008673222. ISSN 0374-5481.
  4. ^ Levi, Herbert W.; Levi, Lorna R. Spiders and Their Kin. p. 20.
  5. ^ Raven, R.J. (1994). "Mygalomorph spiders of the Barychelidae in Australia and the Western Pacific". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 35 (2): 291–706.
  • Raven, R.J. (1986): A revision of the spider genus Sason Simon (Sasoninae, Barychelidae, Mygalomorphae) and its historical biogeography. Journal of Arachnology 14: 47–70. PDF Archived 2018-10-01 at the Wayback Machine
  • Valerio, CE. (1986): Mygalomorph spiders in the Barychelidae (Araneae) from Costa Rica. J. Arachnol. 14: 93–99. PDF Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine (Psalistops venadensis, Trichopelma laselva)
  • Schwendinger, P.J. (2003): Two new species of the arboreal trapdoor spider genus Sason (Araneae, Barychelidae) from Southeast Asia. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 51(2): 197–207. PDF Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine (S. sundaicum, S. andamanicum)

External links[edit]