Atypidae, also known as atypical tarantulas or purseweb spiders, is a spider family containing only three

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

. They are accomplished ambush predators that spend most of their time in a sock-like, silken retreat on the ground from where they kill their prey.

Distribution

Sphodros ''Sphodros'' is a genus of North American purseweb spiders first described by Charles Athanase Walckenaer in 1835. It was considered a synonym of ''Atypus'' until 1980. Species it contains seven species in the United States, Canada, and Mexic ...

'' and ''

Atypus ''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 (''A. affinis'') reaching into North Africa. Only three of the described spec ...

'' occur in North America, while ''

'' and ''

Calommata ''Calommata'' is a genus of purseweb spiders first described by Hippolyte Lucas in 1837. Species it contains sixteen species: *'' Calommata fulvipes'' (Lucas, 1835) (type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, produci ...

'' occur in Asia and Africa. Only ''

'' species are found in Europe. ''

Atypus affinis ''Atypus affinis'', the purseweb spider, is a mygalomorph spider from Europe and North Africa. Distribution ''A. affinis'' is found throughout much of the European mainland, in Great Britain and in North Africa, where this fossorial spider typi ...

'', ''

Atypus muralis ''Atypus muralis'' is a mygalomorph spider from Central Europe to Turkmenistan. It is very similar to ''Atypus piceus'', but the posterior spinnerets A spinneret is a silk-spinning organ of a spider or the larva of an insect. Some adult i ...

'', and ''

Atypus piceus ''Atypus piceus'' is a mygalomorph spider of the family Atypidae. It occurs from France to Russia and in Iran, and is the type species of the genus ''Atypus''. Description Males are about long without chelicerae, females up to . Males are of a ...

'' are the only

mygalomorph The Mygalomorphae, or mygalomorphs, are an infraorder of spiders, and comprise one of three major groups of living spiders with over 3,000 species, found on all continents except Antarctica. Many members are known as trapdoor spiders due to t ...

spiders found in Central 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 the prey through the silk, cuts the web and drags the prey inside to be eaten. ''Calommata'' species, instead of building a purseweb, live in burrows. ''Sphodros'' spp. usually prop their tubes against a tree trunk. Atypical tarantulas have huge

chelicerae The chelicerae () are the arthropod mouthparts, mouthparts of the subphylum Chelicerata, an arthropod group that includes arachnids, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. Commonly referred to as "jaws", chelicerae may be shaped as either articulated ...

for their size and relatively long

spinnerets A spinneret is a silk-spinning organ of a spider or the larva of an insect. Some adult insects also have spinnerets, such as those borne on the forelegs of Embioptera. Spinnerets are usually on the underside of a spider's opisthosoma, and ar ...

(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. During the breeding season for ''A. affinis'', the male leaves his own burrow and goes in search of females. When he finds the burrow of a female, he tentatively taps on the wall of the purseweb, and if the female is receptive, he ventures into the confines of the burrow. The two spiders mate and cohabit until the male dies, when the female eats him. The female makes an egg sac and hangs it in her burrow. The next summer, the eggs hatch, and the spring after that, the spiderlings leave their mother's burrow and wander off to find a suitable place to build a lair of their own. Southeast Asian ''Atypus'' species have a body length of 7 to 21 mm in females, and about 12 mm in males. ''Calommata'' spp. of this region grow from 23 to 30 mm in females, and only about 7 mm in males.

Genera

, the

World Spider Catalog The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...

accepts the following genera: *''

'' Latreille, 1804 — Britain to Ukraine, Asia, North Africa, United States *''

Lucas Lucas or LUCAS may refer to: People * Lucas (surname) * Lucas (given name) Arts and entertainment * Luca Family Singers, or the Lucas, a 19th-century African-American singing group * Lucas, a 1960s Swedish pop group formed by Janne Lucas Perss ...

, 1837 — Asia, South Africa *''

Walckenaer Baron Charles Athanase Walckenaer (25 December 1771 – 28 April 1852) was a French civil servant, writer, man of letters, and scientist. He was a polymath and wrote extensively on geography, natural history, and literature. Major contributio ...

, 1835 — North America

References

External links

Spiders of NW-Europe
{{Taxonbar , from=Q5895

Atypidae Atypidae, also known as atypical tarantulas or purseweb spiders, is a spider family containing only three genus, genera. They are accomplished ambush predators that spend most of their time in a sock-like, silken retreat on the ground from where t ...

Mygalomorphae families

Distribution

Biology

Genera

See also

References

External links