''Liphistius'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of basal trapdoor spiders in the family Liphistiidae. They are found in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Liphistius'' was erected by Jørgen M. C. Schiødte in 1849. Schiødte spelt the name ''Lipistius''; this was corrected to ''Liphistius'' by

Tamerlan Thorell Tord Tamerlan Teodor Thorell (3 May 1830 – 22 December 1901) was a Sweden, Swedish arachnologist. Thorell studied spiders with Giacomo Doria at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale de Genoa. He corresponded with other arachnologists, such as Oc ...

in 1869, a change endorsed by the

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries. Orga ...

in 1970. ''Liphistius'' is from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, ('lack') and , ('web' in this context).

Biology

Female body lengths range from ; males are slightly smaller. They live in burrows in earthen banks, on some cave walls, and probably in forests. The burrow is sealed with a thin, circular, woven door, which is disguised with soil and moss. While they spend the day deep inside their burrows, at night they wait just below the door for insects, woodlice, and similar invertebrates that stumble over one of the seven silken threads that radiate from the entrance. With a reluctance to leave their burrows, they push up the door and reach for their prey.

Species

, 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 69 species: *'' Liphistius albipes'' Schwendinger, 1995 – Thailand *'' Liphistius batuensis'' Abraham, 1923 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius bicoloripes'' Ono, 1988 – Thailand *'' Liphistius birmanicus'' Thorell, 1897 – Myanmar *'' Liphistius bristowei'' Platnick & Sedgwick, 1984 – Thailand *'' Liphistius buran'' Schwendinger, 2019 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius castaneus'' Schwendinger, 1995 – Thailand *'' Liphistius cupreus'' (Schwendinger & Huber, 2022) – Myanmar *'' Liphistius dangrek'' Schwendinger, 1996 – Thailand *'' Liphistius desultor'' Schiödte, 1849 (

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

) – Malaysia *'' Liphistius endau'' Sedgwick & Platnick, 1987 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius erawan'' Schwendinger, 1996 – Thailand *'' Liphistius ferox'' (Schwendinger & Huber, 2022) – Myanmar *'' Liphistius fuscus'' Schwendinger, 1995 – Thailand *'' Liphistius gracilis'' Schwendinger, 2017 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius hatyai'' (Zhan & Xu, 2022) – Thailand *'' Liphistius hpruso'' Aung, Xu, Lwin, Sang, Yu, H. Liu, F. X. Liu & Li, 2019 – Myanmar *'' Liphistius indra'' Schwendinger, 2017 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius inthanon'' (Zhan & Xu, 2022) – Thailand *'' Liphistius isan'' Schwendinger, 1998 – Thailand, Laos *'' Liphistius jarujini'' Ono, 1988 – Thailand *'' Liphistius johore'' Platnick & Sedgwick, 1984 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius kanthan'' Platnick, 1997 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius keeratikiati'' (Zhan & Xu, 2022) – Thailand *'' Liphistius lahu'' Schwendinger, 1998 – Thailand *'' Liphistius langkawi'' Platnick & Sedgwick, 1984 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius lannaianus'' Schwendinger, 1990 – Thailand *'' Liphistius laoticus'' Schwendinger, 2013 – Laos *'' Liphistius laruticus'' Schwendinger, 1997 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius linang'' Schwendinger, 2017 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius lordae'' Platnick & Sedgwick, 1984 – Myanmar *'' Liphistius maewongensis'' Sivayyapram, Smith, Weingdow & Warrit, 2017 – Thailand *'' Liphistius malayanus'' Abraham, 1923 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius marginatus'' Schwendinger, 1990 – Thailand *'' Liphistius metopiae'' Schwendinger, 2022 – Thailand *'' Liphistius murphyorum'' Platnick & Sedgwick, 1984 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius nabang'' Yu, F. Zhang & J. X. Zhang, 2021 – China *'' Liphistius negara'' Schwendinger, 2017 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius nesioticus'' Schwendinger, 1996 – Thailand *'' Liphistius niphanae'' Ono, 1988 – Thailand *'' Liphistius ochraceus'' Ono & Schwendinger, 1990 – Thailand *'' Liphistius onoi'' Schwendinger, 1996 – Thailand *'' Liphistius ornatus'' Ono & Schwendinger, 1990 – Thailand *'' Liphistius owadai'' Ono & Schwendinger, 1990 – Thailand *'' Liphistius panching'' Platnick & Sedgwick, 1984 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius phileion'' Schwendinger, 1998 – Thailand *'' Liphistius phuketensis'' Schwendinger, 1998 – Thailand *'' Liphistius pinlaung'' Aung, Xu, Lwin, Sang, Yu, H. Liu, F. X. Liu & Li, 2019 – Myanmar *'' Liphistius platnicki'' (Schwendinger & Huber, 2022) – Myanmar *'' Liphistius priceae'' Schwendinger, 2017 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius pusohm'' Schwendinger, 1996 – Thailand *'' Liphistius pyinoolwin'' Xu, Yu, Aung, Yu, Liu, Lwin, Sang & Li, 2021 – Myanmar *'' Liphistius sayam'' Schwendinger, 1998 – Thailand *'' Liphistius schwendingeri'' Ono, 1988 – Thailand *'' Liphistius sumatranus'' Thorell, 1890 – Indonesia (Sumatra) *'' Liphistius suwat'' Schwendinger, 1996 – Thailand *'' Liphistius tanakai'' Ono & Aung, 2020 – Myanmar *'' Liphistius tempurung'' Platnick, 1997 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius tenuis'' Schwendinger, 1996 – Thailand *'' Liphistius thaleri'' Schwendinger, 2009 – Thailand *'' Liphistius tham'' Sedgwick & Schwendinger, 1990 – Thailand *'' Liphistius thoranie'' Schwendinger, 1996 – Thailand *'' Liphistius tioman'' Platnick & Sedgwick, 1984 – Malaysia *'' Liphistius trang'' Platnick & Sedgwick, 1984 – Thailand *'' Liphistius tung'' Schwendinger, 2022 – Myanmar *'' Liphistius yamasakii'' Ono, 1988 – Thailand *'' Liphistius yangae'' Platnick & Sedgwick, 1984 – Thailand, Malaysia *'' Liphistius pilok'' *'' Liphistius chang''

Threatened Malaysian species

Three of the ''Liphistius'' species known to exist in Malaysia are endemic to only one or two caves. The most well known is '' Liphistius batuensis'', which is found in Batu Caves. It is endangered, with a population of under 250 individuals. Other species found in Malaysia include '' Liphistius malayanus'', '' Liphistius murphyorum'' and '' Liphistius desultor''. The Malaysian trapdoor spiders are protected by local law, though continuous threats come from loss of habitat and collection by exotic pet traders.

References

External links