''Missulena'' 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 mygalomorph spiders in the family

Actinopodidae Actinopodidae is a family of mygalomorph spiders found in mainland Australia and South America usually in open forest. Species are most common in Queensland, Australia. It includes mouse spiders ('' Missulena'' species), whose bites, though rar ...

. It was first described by Charles Walckenaer in 1805, and is a

senior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

of ''Eriodon''. ''M. tussulena'' is found in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, but the rest are indigenous to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. They are sometimes referred to as "mouse spiders" from the now-disproven belief that they dig deep burrows similar to those of

mice A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

. ''

Scotophaeus blackwalli ''Scotophaeus blackwalli'', also known as the mouse spider, is a species of spider belonging to the family Gnaphosidae. It is a ground spider and does not create webs. Instead it hunts for insects and other spiders at night and uses its enlarged ...

'' is also called a "mouse spider", but it is smaller and not closely related.

Description

These spiders are medium to large in size, ranging from . They have a glossy

carapace A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the unde ...

and high, broad heads with eyes spread out across the front of the head, and short

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 ...

in the rear of the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

. They also exhibit

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

. Females are entirely black, while male colouration is specific to each species. For instance, male eastern mouse spiders (''M. bradleyi'') have a bluish patch, while male red-headed mouse spiders (''M. occatoria'') are brownish or blue-black with bright red-tinged jaws.

Identification

Though they resemble most genera of the infraorder

Mygalomorphae 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 ...

, they can be easily distinguished by the large pair of

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 ...

, as well as by the placement of two small eyes in the centre of the head and three at each side, whereas in all other trapdoor spiders the eyes are grouped in a mound at the centre of the head. Females are harder to identify than males, as they are entirely black, while males exhibit brighter colouration, usually in the form of a blueish abdomen or reddish

and chelicerae, or both.

Distribution and habitat

These spiders have a

Gondwana Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zea ...

n distribution, with one species found in

and the rest distributed throughout

Behaviour

These spiders live in trapdoor-covered burrows that can extend to nearly in depth. Females generally remain in their burrows, depending on the males to wander in search of mates. They mainly

prey Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not ki ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s, though they may consume other small animals as opportunity presents. Their primary predators include

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...

centipede Centipedes (from Neo-Latin , "hundred", and Latin , "foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', "lip", and Neo-Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, ...

s and

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

Medical significance

Bites from these spiders are painful, but not generally dangerous. Serious

envenomation Envenomation is the process by which venom is injected by the bite or sting of a venomous animal. Many kinds of animals, including mammals (e.g., the northern short-tailed shrew, ''Blarina brevicauda''), reptiles (e.g., many snakes), spiders, i ...

is relatively rare, but bites documented in medical literature did not require antivenom treatment or involve serious symptoms. There is evidence that a mouse spider bite can potentially be as serious as that of an

Australian funnel-web spider Atracidae is a family of mygalomorph spiders, commonly known as Australian funnel-web spiders or atracids. It has been included as a subfamily of the Hexathelidae, but is now recognised as a separate family. All members of the family are native ...

, but recorded bites are rare, despite the abundance of some species amid human habitation. These spiders look very similar to the Australian funnel-web spiders and bites should be initially treated as funnel-web spider bites until the spider is positively identified by an expert. Australian funnel-web spider antivenom has been found to be effective in treating severe mouse spider bites. Unlike the Australian funnel-web spiders, however, the mouse spider is far less aggressive towards humans, and may often bite without releasing any venom.

Species

it contains 26 species: *'' M. bradleyi'' Rainbow, 1914 – Australia (NSW) *'' M. davidi'' Greenberg, Huey, Framenau & Harms, 2021 – Australia (WA) *'' M. dipsaca'' Faulder, 1995 – Australia *'' M. durokoppin'' Marsh, Stevens & Framenau, 2023 – Australia (WA) *'' M. faulderi'' Harms & Framenau, 2013 – Australia (WA) *'' M. gelasinos'' Marsh, Stevens & Framenau, 2023 – Australia (WA) *'' M. granulosa'' (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869) – Australia (WA) *'' M. harewoodi'' Framenau & Harms, 2017 – Australia (WA) *'' M. hoggi'' Womersley, 1943 – Australia (WA) *'' M. ignea'' Marsh, Stevens & Framenau, 2023 – Australia (WA) *'' M. insignis'' (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1877) – Australia *'' M. iugum'' Greenberg, Huey, Framenau & Harms, 2021 – Australia (WA) *'' M. langlandsi'' Harms & Framenau, 2013 – Australia (WA) *'' M. leniae'' Miglio, Harms, Framenau & Harvey, 2014 – Australia (WA) *'' M. mainae'' Miglio, Harms, Framenau & Harvey, 2014 – Australia (WA) *'' M. manningensis'' Greenberg, Huey, Framenau & Harms, 2021 – Australia (WA) *'' M. melissae'' Miglio, Harms, Framenau & Harvey, 2014 – Australia (WA) *'' M. minima'' Marsh, Stevens & Framenau, 2023 – Australia (WA) *'' M. occatoria'' Walckenaer, 1805 – Australia *'' M. pinguipes'' Miglio, Harms, Framenau & Harvey, 2014 – Australia (WA) *'' M. pruinosa'' Levitt-Gregg, 1966 – Australia (WA, NT) *'' M. reflexa'' Rainbow & Pulleine, 1918 – Australia (SA) *'' M. rutraspina'' Faulder, 1995 – Australia (WA, SA, VIC) *'' M. terra'' Marsh, Stevens & Framenau, 2023 – Australia (WA) *'' M. torbayensis'' Main, 1996 – Australia (WA) *'' M. tussulena'' Goloboff, 1994 – Chile Formerly included: *''M. bonneti'' (Zapfe, 1961) (Transferred to ''

Plesiolena ''Plesiolena'' is a small genus of South American Mygalomorphae, mygalomorph spiders in the family Actinopodidae. It was first described by Pablo A. Goloboff and Norman I. Platnick in 1987, and it has only been found in Chile. The name is a combi ...

'')

Description

Identification

Distribution and habitat

Behaviour

Medical significance

Species

See also

References

Further reading