Telemidae, also known as long-legged cave spiders, is a family of small

haplogyne The Haplogynae or haplogynes are one of the two main groups into which araneomorph spiders have traditionally been divided, the other being the Entelegynae. Morphological phylogenetic studies suggested that the Haplogynae formed a clade; more re ...

spiders. Most are cave dwelling spiders with six eyes, though some do not have any eyes at all. There are about 104 described species in sixteen genera.

Physical features

The legs are long, thin, relatively spineless, and do not have

trichobothria Trichobothria (singular trichobothrium) are elongate setae ("hairs") present in arachnids, various orders of insects, and myriapods that function in the detection of airborne vibrations and currents, and electrical charge. In 1883, Friedrich Dahl o ...

. They have three pairs of

spinneret 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 ...

s, the longest of which is toward the head. Instead of

book lungs A book lung is a type of respiration organ used for atmospheric gas exchange that is present in many arachnids, such as scorpions and spiders. Each of these organs is located inside an open ventral abdominal, air-filled cavity (atrium) and conn ...

, they have two pairs of tracheal

spiracle Spiracle or spiraculum may refer to: * Spiracle (arthropods), opening in the exoskeletons of some arthropods * Spiracle (vertebrates), openings on the surface of some vertebrates * Spiraculum ''Spiraculum'' is a genus of operculate land snail ...

s. The elongate abdomen bears a hardened ridge above the

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

running in a zigzag pattern that is more clearly defined in males than females. The

pedipalp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the second pair of appendages of chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicerae ("jaws") a ...

on males is oval and bag-like with a thin

spermatophore A spermatophore or sperm ampulla is a capsule or mass containing spermatozoa created by males of various animal species, especially salamanders and arthropods, and transferred in entirety to the female's ovipore during reproduction. Spermatophores ...

. The female pedipalp does not have a claw.

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: *''

Apneumonella ''Apneumonella'' is a genus of long-legged cave spiders that was first described by L. Fage in 1921. It is one of several genera, including '' Telema'', '' Usofila'', and ''Cangoderces'', whose relationship within the family and to these other ge ...

'' Fage, 1921 — Asia, Africa *'' Burmalema'' Zhao & Li, 2022 — Myanmar *''

Cangoderces ''Cangoderces'' is a genus of African long-legged cave spiders that was first described by Harington in 1951. Species it contains six species, found in Africa: *'' Cangoderces cameroonensis'' Baert, 1985 – Cameroon *'' Cangoderces christae'' ...

'' Harington, 1951 — Cameroon, Ivory Coast, South Africa, DR Congo *'' Guhua'' Zhao & Li, 2017 — Kenya *''

Jocquella ''Jocquella'' is a genus of Papuan long-legged cave spiders that was first described by L. Baert in 1980. it contains two species, found in Papua New Guinea: '' J. boisai'' and '' J. leopoldi''. See also * List of Telemidae species This pag ...

'' Baert, 1980 — Papua New Guinea *'' Kinku'' Dupérré & Tapia, 2015 — Ecuador *''

Mekonglema ''Mekonglema'' is a genus of Asian long-legged cave spiders first described by H. F. Zhao, S. Q. Li and A. B. Zhang in 2020. Species it contains five species: *'' M. bailang'' Zhao & Li, 2020 (type) – China *'' M. kaorao'' Zhao & Li, 2020 – ...

'' Zhao & Li, 2020 — China, Thailand, Laos *'' Microlema'' Zhao & Li, 2022 — Thailand, Vietnam *''

Pinelema ''Pinelema'' is a genus of Asian long-legged cave spiders that was first described by C. X. Wang & S. Q. Li in 2012. Species it contains fifty-five species, found in China and Vietnam: * ''Pinelema adunca'' (Wang & Li, 2010) — China * '' P ...

'' Wang & Li, 2012 — China, Vietnam *''

Seychellia ''Seychellia'' is a genus of long-legged cave spiders that was first described by Michael I. Saaristo in 1978. Species it contains five species, found in Africa and China: *'' Seychellia cameroonensis'' Baert, 1985 – Cameroon *'' Seychellia ...

'' Saaristo, 1978 — Africa *''

Siamlema ''Siamlema'' is a small genus of southeast Asian long-legged cave spiders. It was first described by H. F. Zhao, S. Q. Li and A. B. Zhang in 2020, and it has only been found in Thailand. it contains only two species: '' S. changhai'' and '' S. s ...

'' Zhao & Li, 2020 — Thailand *''

Sundalema ''Sundalema'' is a genus of southeast Asian long-legged cave spiders first described by H. F. Zhao, S. Q. Li and A. B. Zhang in 2020. Species it contains four species: *'' S. acicularis'' (Wang & Li, 2010) – Thailand *'' S. anguina'' (Wang & ...

'' Zhao & Li, 2020 — Thailand, Indonesia *''

Telema ''Telema'' is a genus of long-legged cave spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1882. Species it contains six species, most found in Asia, except for ''T. tenella'', found in Europe, and ''T. mayana'', found in Guatemala: ...

'' Simon, 1882 — Asia, Guatemala, Europe *''

Telemofila ''Telemofila'' is a genus of long-legged cave spiders that was first described by J. Wunderlich in 1995. it contains two species, found on Sumatra and New Caledonia: '' T. pecki'' and '' T. samosirensis''. See also * List of Telemidae species ...

'' Wunderlich, 1995 — Singapore, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Indonesia *''

Usofila ''Usofila'' is a genus of American long-legged cave spiders that was first described by Eugen von Keyserling in 1891. Originally placed with the Ochyroceratidae, it was transferred to the Telemidae in 1973. Species it contains four species, fo ...

'' Keyserling, 1891 — United States *''

Zhuanlema ''Zhuanlema'' is a monotypic genus of southeast Asian long-legged cave spiders containing the single species, ''Zhuanlema peteri''. It was first described by H. F. Zhao, S. Q. Li and A. B. Zhang in 2020, and it has only been found in Laos. See ...

'' Zhao & Li, 2020 — Laos

References

* Platnick, N.I. (1986). On the tibial and patellar glands, relationships, and American genera of the spider family Leptonetidae (Arachnida, Araneae). ''American Museum Novitates'' 2855
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(with info on Telemidae) {{Taxonbar, from=Q11733 Araneomorphae families