Atypical tarantula

Atypical tarantula

Taxobox
name = Atypical tarantulas


image_width = 250px
image_caption = "Sphodros rufipes"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Arachnida
ordo = Araneae
subordo = Mygalomorphae
superfamilia = Atypoidea
familia = Atypidae
familia_authority = Thorell, 1870
diversity_link = List of Atypidae species
diversity = 3 genera, 43 species
range_



range_map_width = 250px
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = "Atypus"
"Calommata"
"Sphodros"

The atypical tarantulas or purseweb spiders (family "Atypidae") consist of only three genera.

Distribution

In the North America these are "Sphodros" and "Atypus", in Asia and Africa there are "Atypus" and "Calommata", and only "Atypus" in Europe [Platnick 2008] .

"Atypus affinis", "A. muralis" and "A. piceus" are the only species of this family found in northwestern Europe.

Biology

"Atypus" builds a silken tube parallel to the surface of the ground, While up to 8 cm of the tube lie on the ground, about 20 cm are buried vertically. The spider rests at the bottom of the tube. When prey walks on the exposed part, the spider, alerted by the vibrations, stabs it through the silk, cuts the web and drags it inside to be eaten. "Calommata", instead of building a purse web, lives in a burrow.Murphy & Murphy 2000] "Sphodros" usually props its tubes against a tree trunk.

Atypical tarantulas have huge chelicerae for their size and relatively long spinnerets (although not as long as those found in diplurids). The males are sometimes brightly colored and wander around looking for females in their tubes. The females are reddish-brown or dark-colored.

Southeast Asian "Atypus" species have a body length of 7 to 21 mm in females, and about 12 mm in males. "Calommata" of this region grow from 23 to 30 mm in females, and only about 7 mm in males.

Genera

* "Atypus" Latreille, 1804 — Britain to Ukraine, Asia, North Africa, USA (29 species)
* "Calommata" Lucas, 1837 — Asia, Africa (7 species)
* "Sphodros" Walckenaer, 1835 — USA, Mexico (7 species)

ee also

* List of Atypidae species
* Spider families

Footnotes

References

* (2008): [http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/index.html The world spider catalog] , version 8.5. "American Museum of Natural History".

External links

* [http://www.xs4all.nl/~ednieuw/Spiders/spidhome.htm Spiders of NW-Europe]
* [http://taipan.nmsu.edu/people/richman/dbr.html Richman, D. B. 2003. Some Spiders - Photograph of "Sphodros"]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • atypical tarantula — noun purseweb spider …   Wiktionary

  • Tarantula (disambiguation) — Tarantula refers to several different types of spiders: * True tarantulas are spiders of the family Theraphosidae, characterized by their extremely large size * Dwarf tarantulas, of the family Mecicobothriidae * Atypical tarantulas, of the family …   Wikipedia

  • Tarantula — Taxobox name = Tarantulas image width = 240px image caption = Mexican Red knee Tarantula regnum = Animalia phylum = Arthropoda classis = Arachnida ordo = Araneae subordo = Mygalomorphae superfamilia = Theraphosoidea familia = Theraphosidae… …   Wikipedia

  • Mygalomorphae — Mygalomorphs Missulena bradleyi, the Mouse Spider Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia …   Wikipedia

  • Tube-dwelling spider — Taxobox name = Tube dwelling spiders image caption = Segestria florentina image width = 250px regnum = Animalia phylum = Arthropoda classis = Arachnida ordo = Araneae superfamilia = Dysderoidea familia = Segestriidae familia authority = Simon,… …   Wikipedia

  • purseweb spider — noun any of several spiders, of the family Atypidae, that builds a silken tube close to the ground. Syn: atypical tarantula See Also: purse, web …   Wiktionary

  • List of cutaneous conditions — This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries. See also: Cutaneous conditions, Category:Cutaneous conditions, and ICD 10… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Dreamcast games — This is a list of titles (inclusive of games and other software) released for the Dreamcast computer system, organized alphabetically by name. The Dreamcast has 720 games. Contents: 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X …   Wikipedia

  • Mass psychogenic illness — (MPI), also called mass sociogenic illness,[1] is “the rapid spread of illness signs and symptoms affecting members of a cohesive group, originating from a nervous system disturbance involving excitation, loss or alteration of function, whereby… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”