Barychelidae

Barychelidae, also known as brushed trapdoor spiders, is a spider family with about 300 species in 39 genera.

Behaviour

Most spiders in this family build trapdoor burrows. For example, the long '' Sipalolasma'' builds its burrow in rotted wood, with a hinged trapdoor at each end. The long '' Idioctis'' builds its burrow approximately deep, just below the high tide level, sealing the opening with a thin trapdoor.

Some species avoid flooding by plugging their burrows, while others can avoid drowning by trapping air bubbles within the hairs covering their bodies. Some members of this group have a rake on the front surface of their chelicerae used for compacting burrow walls. These spiders can run up glass like tarantulas, and some can stridulate, though it isn't audible to humans.

Distribution

Barychelids are found in Australia, New Caledonia, South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, New Guinea, and Pacific islands.

Genera

, the World Spider Catalog accepts the following genera:

*'' Adelonychia'' Walsh, 1890 – India
*'' Ammonius'' Thorell, 1899 — Cameroon
*'' Atrophothele'' Pocock, 1903 — Yemen
*'' Aurecocrypta'' Raven, 1994 — Australia
*'' Barycheloides'' Raven, 1994 — New Caledonia
*'' Barychelus'' Simon, 1889 — New Caledonia
*'' Cosmopelma'' Simon, 1889 — Brazil
*'' Cyphonisia'' Simon, 1889 — Africa
*'' Encyocrypta'' Simon, 1889 — New Caledonia
*'' Eubrachycercus'' Pocock, 1897 — Somalia
*'' Fijocrypta'' Raven, 1994 — Fiji
*'' Idioctis'' L. Koch, 1874 — Oceania, Africa, Singapore
*'' Idiommata'' Ausserer, 1871 — Australia
*'' Idiophthalma'' O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1877 — South America
*'' Mandjelia'' Raven, 1994 — Australia
*'' Monodontium'' Kulczyński, 1908 — Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia
*'' Moruga'' Raven, 1994 — Australia
*'' Natgeogia'' Raven, 1994 — New Caledonia
*'' Neodiplothele'' Mello-Leitão, 1917 — Brazil
*''Nihoa'' Raven & Churchill, 1992 — Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu
*'' Orstom'' Raven, 1994 — New Caledonia
*'' Ozicrypta'' Raven, 1994 — Australia
*'' Paracenobiopelma'' Feio, 1952 — Brazil
*'' Pisenor'' Simon, 1889 — Africa
*'' Plagiobothrus'' Karsch, 1892 — Sri Lanka
*'' Questocrypta'' Raven, 1994 — New Caledonia
*'' Rhianodes'' Raven, 1985 — Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines
*''Sason'' Simon, 1887 — Asia, Oceania, Seychelles
*'' Sasonichus'' Pocock, 1900 — India
*'' Seqocrypta'' Raven, 1994 — Australia
*'' Sipalolasma'' Simon, 1892 — Asia, Africa
*'' Strophaeus'' Ausserer, 1875 — Brazil, Peru, Panama
*'' Synothele'' Simon, 1908 — Australia
*'' Tigidia'' Simon, 1892 — Madagascar, Mauritius
*'' Trittame'' L. Koch, 1874 — Australia
*'' Troglothele'' Fage, 1929 — Cuba
*'' Tungari'' Raven, 1994 — Australia
*'' Zophorame'' Raven, 1990 — Australia
*'' Zophoryctes'' Simon, 1902 — Madagascar
*''† Megamonodontium'' McCurry, Frese & Raven, 2023

References

* Raven, R.J. (1986): A revision of the spider genus ''Sason'' Simon (Sasoninae, Barychelidae, Mygalomorphae) and its historical biogeography. ''Journal of Arachnology'' 14: 47–70
PDF

* Valerio, CE. (1986): Mygalomorph spiders in the Barychelidae (Araneae) from Costa Rica. ''J. Arachnol.'' 14: 93–99
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(''Psalistops venadensis'', ''Trichopelma laselva'')
* Schwendinger, P.J. (2003): Two new species of the arboreal trapdoor spider genus ''Sason'' (Araneae, Barychelidae) from Southeast Asia. ''Raffles Bulletin of Zoology'' 51(2): 197–207
PDF
(''S. sundaicum'', ''S. andamanicum'')

External links

Brush-footed trap-door spiders

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Mygalomorphae families