''Caponia'', also called eight-eyed orange lungless spiders, is an

Afrotropical The Afrotropical realm is one of Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the island ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

araneomorph The Araneomorphae (also called the Labidognatha) are an infraorder of spiders. They are distinguishable by chelicerae (fangs) that point diagonally forward and cross in a pinching action, in contrast to the Mygalomorphae (tarantulas and their cl ...

spiders in the family

Caponiidae Caponiidae is a family of ecribellate haplogyne spiders that are unusual in a number of ways. They differ from other spiders in lacking book lungs and having the posterior median spinnerets anteriorly displaced to form a transverse row with the ...

, first described by

Eugène Simon Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects and spiders, but also on birds and plants. He is by far the most prolific spider taxonomist in history, describing over 4 ...

in 1887. As the common name implies, these spiders have a tightly arranged set of eight eyes, as opposed to the related two-eyed genus ''

Diploglena ''Diploglena'' is a genus of African araneomorph spiders in the family Caponiidae, first described by William Frederick Purcell in 1904. Species it contains six species: *''Diploglena arida'' Haddad, 2015 – South Africa *''Diploglena capensis ...

'', and breathe using two pairs of tracheae rather than

book lung 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 con ...

s. They are agile, nocturnal hunters, that hide by day in a variety of silk-lined retreats.

Species

it contains ten species: *''

Caponia braunsi ''Caponia'', also called eight-eyed orange lungless spiders, is an Afrotropical genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Caponiidae, first described by Eugène Simon in 1887. As the common name implies, these spiders have a tightly arranged ...

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

, 1904 – South Africa *''

Caponia capensis ''Caponia'', also called eight-eyed orange lungless spiders, is an Afrotropical realm, Afrotropical genus of Araneomorphae, araneomorph spiders in the family Caponiidae, first described by Eugène Simon in 1887. As the common name implies, these ...

'' Purcell, 1904 – South Africa, Mozambique *''

Caponia chelifera ''Caponia'', also called eight-eyed orange lungless spiders, is an Afrotropical genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Caponiidae, first described by Eugène Simon in 1887. As the common name implies, these spiders have a tightly arranged ...

'' Lessert, 1936 – Mozambique *''

Caponia forficifera ''Caponia'', also called eight-eyed orange lungless spiders, is an Afrotropical genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Caponiidae, first described by Eugène Simon in 1887. As the common name implies, these spiders have a tightly arranged ...

'' Purcell, 1904 – South Africa *''

Caponia hastifera ''Caponia'', also called eight-eyed orange lungless spiders, is an Afrotropical genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Caponiidae, first described by Eugène Simon in 1887. As the common name implies, these spiders have a tightly arranged ...

'' Purcell, 1904 – South Africa, Mozambique *''

Caponia karrooica ''Caponia'', also called eight-eyed orange lungless spiders, is an Afrotropical genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Caponiidae, first described by Eugène Simon in 1887. As the common name implies, these spiders have a tightly arranged ...

'' Purcell, 1904 – South Africa *'' Caponia natalensis'' (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1874) (

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

) – Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa *''

Caponia secunda ''Caponia'', also called eight-eyed orange lungless spiders, is an Afrotropical genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Caponiidae, first described by Eugène Simon in 1887. As the common name implies, these spiders have a tightly arranged ...

'' Pocock, 1900 – South Africa *''

Caponia simoni ''Caponia'', also called eight-eyed orange lungless spiders, is an Afrotropical genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Caponiidae, first described by Eugène Simon in 1887. As the common name implies, these spiders have a tightly arranged ...

'' Purcell, 1904 – South Africa *''

Caponia spiralifera ''Caponia'', also called eight-eyed orange lungless spiders, is an Afrotropical genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Caponiidae, first described by Eugène Simon in 1887. As the common name implies, these spiders have a tightly arranged ...

'' Purcell, 1904 – South Africa

References

Araneomorphae genera Caponiidae Spiders of Africa Taxa named by Eugène Simon {{Caponiidae-stub