''Atypus karschi'' is a

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 ...

spider found in Korea, China, Taiwan, and Japan. It has been introduced into the United States. First described in 1887 by Friedrich Karl Wilhelm Dönitz, the

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

honors

arachnologist Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, ticks, and mites. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly ...

Friedrich Karsch Ferdinand Anton Franz Karsch (2 September 1853, in Münster – 20 December 1936, in Berlin) was a German arachnologist, entomologist and anthropologist. He also wrote on human and animal sexual diversity with his mother's maiden name included a ...

Distribution

Primarily found in Asia, there is also a population of A. karschi in southeastern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. This population was previously thought to be a separate species, but genetic testing revealed it to be the same species as A. karschi in Asia. Their habitat includes fields, trees, and slopes among wooded areas, suburban areas, and

riparian zones A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripari ...

Description

These spiders are black or dark brown and range from . They have large

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 ...

in comparison to their body size, which point downwards as characteristic of mygalomorphs.

Behavior

A. karschi spiders create an unusual web. The spider creates a vertical or horizontal tube of silk, part of which is hidden below ground, and with the portion above ground covered in leaves and other debris. The spider hunts by waiting for an insect to land or crawl onto the tube, then bites through the silk to pull the insect inside. Males leave their tubes once they reach maturity and wander in search for a mate, while females usually spend their whole lives within their burrows. The spiders use projectile excretion to safely defacate from within their tube, and some researchers suspect that the spider uses their excretion to create a V shape on the ground and funnel prey towards the tube. Young spiderlings traverse via

ballooning Ballooning may refer to: * Hot air ballooning * Balloon (aeronautics) * Ballooning (spider) * Ballooning degeneration, a disease * Memory ballooning In computing, memory ballooning is a technique that is used to eliminate the need to overcommit ...

, something that is rare among mygalomorph spiders.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q303804 , from2=Q2125843 Atypidae Spiders of Asia Spiders described in 1887