''Lutica'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of zodariid

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

s that occurs only in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

on both the mainland

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

coast and the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

. ''Lutica abalonea'' is known from the coast west of

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California, United States. On California's Central Coast (California), Central Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the List of largest California cities by populati ...

, ''Lutica clementea'' is known from

San Clemente Island San Clemente Island (Tongva: ''Kinkipar''; Spanish: ''Isla de San Clemente'') is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administer ...

, ''Lutica maculata'' is known from Santa Rosa Island, and ''Lutica nicolasia'' is known from

San Nicolas Island San Nicolas Island (Spanish: ''Isla de San Nicolás''; Tongva: ''Haraasnga'') is the most remote of the Channel Islands, off Southern California, from the nearest point on the mainland coast. It is part of Ventura County. The island is current ...

. It is believed that there is another species found on

San Miguel Island San Miguel Island ( Chumash: ''Tuqan'') is the westernmost of California's Channel Islands, located across the Santa Barbara Channel in the Pacific Ocean, within Santa Barbara County, California. San Miguel is the sixth-largest of the eight Ch ...

, though it has not been described due to lack of adult specimens. These spiders are found living in coastal sand dunes in and around clumps of

foliage A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, f ...

. Unlike many spiders, ''Lutica'' build web tubes that are covered in sand. These tubes are used to detect prey, such as

Coelus globosus ''Coelus globosus'' is a species of beetle in family Tenebrionidae. It is found in Mexico and the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North ...

, when they cross the tube, similar to the hunting style of

purseweb spider Atypidae, also known as atypical tarantulas or purseweb spiders, is a spider family containing only three genera. They are accomplished ambush predators that spend most of their time in a sock-like, silken retreat on the ground from where they kil ...

s. ''Lutica'' also do not

balloon A balloon is a flexible membrane bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. For special purposes, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), ...

as most spiders do but rather stay fairly close to their initial locations in their dune environment and non-reproductive terrestrial migration is uncommon.

Species

''Lutica'' comprises 4 species: *'' Lutica abalonea'' Gertsch, 1961 — USA *'' Lutica clementea'' Gertsch, 1961 — USA *'' Lutica maculata'' Marx, 1891 — USA *'' Lutica nicolasia'' Gertsch, 1961 — USA

References

External links

Image(s) of ''Lutica'' spider
Zodariidae Spiders of North America Endemic fauna of California Endemic spiders of the United States Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Channel Islands of California Natural history of Ventura County, California Araneomorphae genera {{Zodariidae-stub

Species

References

Further reading

External links