''Cyclocosmia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

mygalomorph The Mygalomorphae, or mygalomorphs, are an infraorder of spiders, and comprise one of three major groups of living spiders with over 3000 species, found on all continents except Antarctica. Many members are known as trapdoor spiders due to the ...

trapdoor spiders in the family

Halonoproctidae Halonoproctidae is a family of mygalomorph spiders, split off from the family Ctenizidae in 2018. Species in the family are widely distributed in North and Central America, Australasia, Asia, southern Europe and North Africa. One species is recor ...

, first described by

Anton Ausserer Anton Ausserer (5 July 184320 July 1889)Maurer, Ferdinand: ''Nachruf an Dr. Anton Ausserer.'' Programm des kk. acad. Gymnasiums in Grätz. Graz 1890 was an Austrian naturalist specialising in spiders.Bonnet, Pierre: Bibliographia aranearum, Les ...

in 1871. Originally placed with the

Ctenizidae Ctenizidae is a small family of mygalomorph spiders that construct burrows with a cork-like trapdoor made of soil, vegetation, and silk. They may be called trapdoor spiders, as are other, similar species, such as those of the families Liphistii ...

, when the family split in 2018, this genus was placed with the

as the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nomina ...

. The name is derived from the Greek "kyklos" (), meaning "circle", and "kosmeo" (), meaning "to adorn".

Description

''C. ricketti'' females are long, with a disk diameter of . Their burrows are deep, and only the bottom portion of the burrow is silk lined. These are trapdoor spiders, whose species are distinguished from each other by the pattern of the abdominal disk, the number of hairs on its seam, and the shape of the

spermatheca The spermatheca (pronounced plural: spermathecae ), also called receptaculum seminis (plural: receptacula seminis), is an organ of the female reproductive tract in insects, e.g. ants, bees, some molluscs, oligochaeta worms and certain othe ...

e. They have abdomens that are abruptly truncated, ending in a hardened disc that is strengthened by a system of ribs and grooves. They use this to clog the entrance of their burrows when threatened, a phenomenon called

phragmosis Phragmosis is any method by which an animal defends itself in its burrow, by using its own body as a barrier. This term was originally coined by W.M. Wheeler (1927), while describing the defensive technique exhibited by insects. Wheeler observed the ...

. The disks have strong spines around the edge, and they each have four

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 are ...

just anterior to it. The posterior, retractable spinnerets are particularly large.

Species

it contains ten species: *''

Cyclocosmia lannaensis ''Cyclocosmia'' is a genus of mygalomorph trapdoor spiders in the family Halonoproctidae, first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871. Originally placed with the Ctenizidae, when the family split in 2018, this genus was placed with the Halonopro ...

'' Schwendinger, 2005 – China, Thailand *'' Cyclocosmia latusicosta'' Zhu, Zhang & Zhang, 2006 – China, Vietnam *'' Cyclocosmia liui'' Xu, Xu & Li, 2017 – China *'' Cyclocosmia loricata'' ( C. L. Koch, 1842) – Mexico *'' Cyclocosmia ricketti'' ( Pocock, 1901) – China *'' Cyclocosmia siamensis'' Schwendinger, 2005 – Thailand, Laos *'' Cyclocosmia sublatusicosta'' Yu & Zhang, 2018 – China *'' Cyclocosmia subricketti'' Yu & Zhang, 2018 – China *'' Cyclocosmia torreya'' Gertsch & Platnick, 1975 – USA *'' Cyclocosmia truncata'' (Hentz, 1841) (

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

) – USA

References

External links

''Cyclocosmia''
at Bugguide.net
''Cyclocosmia''
close up Halonoproctidae Mygalomorphae genera Spiders of Asia Spiders of North America Taxa named by Anton Ausserer {{Mygalomorphae-stub

Description

Species

References

Further reading

External links