''Chelypus'' ('clawfoot') is a genus of slow-moving, burrowing sunspiders confined to the deserts and arid regions of
Southern Africa.
Description
They are readily separated from other Solifugae by an absence of claws on the fourth pair of legs. Both ''Chelypus'', and the related genus ''
Hexisopus
''Hexisopus'' is a genus of hexisopodid camel spiders, first described by Ferdinand Karsch
Ferdinand Anton Franz Karsch or Karsch-Haack (2 September 1853, in Münster – 20 December 1936, in Berlin) was a German arachnologist, entomologist ...
'' spend a large part of their existence underground, and their 2nd, 3rd and particularly 4th pair of legs are shortened and robust, and equipped with rake-like spines for digging.
Members of the family Hexisopodidae differ markedly in morphology from those of other Solifugae families - most patently in their
fossorial
A fossorial () animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily, but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, meerkats, and mole salamanders, as well as many beetles, wasps, and bees.
Prehistoric eviden ...
rather than
cursorial legs. Such extreme modifications often blur relationships with other taxa, and hexisopodid genealogy is no exception. The main external difference between ''Chelypus'' and ''Hexisopus'' is the presence of well-developed spines on the
pedipalps of Chelypus. Its subterranean way of life makes the family extremely difficult to study.
Distribution
The family Hexisopodidae Pocock 1897 is endemic mainly in South Africa and
Namibia (but also in
Angola,
Zimbabwe,
Zambia, and
Botswana).
Phylogeny
The current phylogeny of Solifugae is lacking in any subordinal or superfamilial arrangement and is largely based on the scheme put forward by
Carl Friedrich Roewer
Carl Friedrich Roewer (12 October 1881, in Neustrelitz – 17 June 1963) was a German arachnologist. He concentrated on harvestmen, where he described almost a third (2,260) of today's known species, but also almost 700 taxa of spiders and numerou ...
in 1934, relying on highly variable characters at both genus and species level. Roewer's system has been challenged by various taxonomists and authors.
, the World Solifugae Catalog accepts the following eight species:
*''
Chelypus barberi
''Chelypus'' ('clawfoot') is a genus of slow-moving, burrowing sunspiders confined to the deserts and arid regions of Southern Africa.
Description
They are readily separated from other Solifugae by an absence of claws on the fourth pair of ...
''
Purcell, 1902 — Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe
*''
Chelypus eberlanzi''
Roewer, 1941 — Namibia
*''
Chelypus hirsti''
Hewitt, 1915 — Botswana, Namibia, South Africa
*''
Chelypus lawrencei''
Wharton, 1981 — Namibia
*''
Chelypus lennoxae''
Hewitt, 1912 — Namibia, South Africa
*''
Chelypus macroceras''
(Roewer, 1933) — Zambia
*''
Chelypus shortridgei''
Hewitt, 1931 — Namibia
*''
Chelypus wuehlischi
''Chelypus'' ('clawfoot') is a genus of slow-moving, burrowing sunspiders confined to the deserts and arid regions of Southern Africa.
Description
They are readily separated from other Solifugae by an absence of claws on the fourth pair of ...
''
Roewer, 1941 — Namibia
Bibliography
Bibliography''"Catalogue of the Smaller Arachnid Orders of the World"'' - Mark S Harvey (Csiro Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, 2003)
*''"The Arachnid Fauna of the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park - A Revision of the Species of "Mole Solifuges" of the genus Chelypus, Purcell, 1901"'' - Bruno H. Lamoral ("Koedoe" 16: ''83-102'' (1973))
References
External links
''"Solifuges, Camel Spiders"''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5266859
Arachnids of Africa
Solifugae genera
Taxa named by William Frederick Purcell