''Teyl'' is a genus of
spider
Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species d ...
s in the family
Anamidae. It is one of the genera that was placed in the former
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...
Teylini (now included in the
Anamidae).
[Main 2004] The
type species
In 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 species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
is ''T. luculentus''.
Description
Species of this genus range from 2 to 10 mm in
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 und ...
length.
Species
it contains seven species:
* ''
Teyl damsonoides''
(Main, 1983) — Western Australia
* ''
Teyl harveyi''
Main, 2004 — Victoria
* ''
Teyl heuretes''
Huey, Rix, Wilson, Hillyer & Harvey, 2019 — Western Australia
* ''
Teyl luculentus''
Main, 1975 — Western Australia
* ''
Teyl vancouveri''
(Main, 1985) — Western Australia
* ''
Teyl walkeri''
Main, 2004 — Victoria
* ''
Teyl yeni''
Main, 2004 — Victoria
Distribution
The genus occurs in south-western Australia as well as in
Eyre Peninsula
The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north.
Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named af ...
and western
Victoria. Its distribution was likely fragmented in southern Australia during the
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
inundation of central Australia, the radiation of the genus in south-western Australia has probably resulted from the continuing isolation of relictual habitats which have retained aspects of
Gondwana
Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final st ...
n conditions.
Names
The genus name is an Australian Aboriginal word meaning a brightly coloured stone - thus the reference is to the glabrous (shiny) bright texture of the spider's integument.
The specific name ''luculentus'' of the type species refers to the shining yellowish colour.
[Main 1975]
''T. harvey'' is named as a tribute to Mark S. Harvey, ''T. walkeri'' after Ken Walker, ''T. yeni'' after Alan Yen.
Footnotes
References
* Main, B.Y. (1975): The citrine spider; a new genus of trapdoor spider (Mygalomorphae: Dipluridae). ''The Western Australian Naturalist'' 13(4): 73-78.
* Main, Barbara York (2004): Biosystematics of Australian mygalomorph spiders: descriptions of three species of ''Teyl'' from Victoria (Araneae: Nemesiidae). ''Memoirs of Museum Victoria'' 61(1): 47-55
PDF
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2713030
Anamidae
Spiders of Australia
Mygalomorphae genera