''Mastophora'', also known as bolas spiders, 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 orb-weaver spiders first described by E. L. Holmberg in 1876. They can be identified by a pair of lumps on the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

surface of the

opisthosoma The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma ( cephalothorax). It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata (arachnids, horseshoe crabs and others). Although it is similar in most respects ...

, though not all males will have these lumps. Adult females of the genus snare prey mid-air by using a silk line with an adhesive blob on the end, similar to

bolas Bolas or bolases (: bola; from Spanish and Portuguese ''bola'', "ball", also known as a ''boleadora'' or ''boleadeira'') is a type of throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, used to capture animals by entangling ...

used by South American

gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, the southern part of Bolivia, and the south of Chilean Patago ...

s. They feed on flying insects, particularly

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s, sometimes releasing pheromones that mimic those of their prey to attract them. Males and juvenile females capture their prey directly with their legs. ''Mastophora'' spiders have extreme sexual size dimorphism: adult females reach 0,75 inches (19 mm), while adult males are smaller than 0,067 inches (1,7 mm). These spiders reach maturity after two instars, or fewer. Cephalothorax often with dorsal protuberances, frequently paired. Female abdomen large, wider than long, an occasion has dorsal humps or lobes. Prey specialization by means of aggressive chemical mimicry. The attraction of preys by Mastophora is undoubtedly linked to an extraordinary endocrinoid abdominal tissue discovered histologically and named by A. Lopez, France (external link), a structure unfortunately ignored in english and spanish publications concerning the genus nevertheless America autochthonous.

Species

it contains fifty species: *'' Mastophora abalosi'' Urtubey & Báez, 1983 – Argentina *'' Mastophora alachua''

Levi Levi ( ; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelites, Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron ...

, 2003 – USA *'' Mastophora alvareztoroi'' Ibarra & Jiménez, 2003 – USA, Mexico *'' Mastophora apalachicola'' Levi, 2003 – USA *'' Mastophora archeri'' Gertsch, 1955 – USA *'' Mastophora bisaccata'' ( Emerton, 1884) – USA, Mexico *'' Mastophora brescoviti'' Levi, 2003 – Brazil *'' Mastophora caesariata'' Eberhard & Levi, 2006 – Costa Rica *'' Mastophora carpogaster'' Mello-Leitão, 1925 – Brazil *'' Mastophora catarina'' Levi, 2003 – Brazil *'' Mastophora comma'' Báez & Urtubey, 1985 – Argentina *'' Mastophora conica'' Levi, 2006 – Argentina *'' Mastophora conifera'' (Holmberg, 1876) – Argentina *'' Mastophora cornigera'' ( Hentz, 1850) – USA to Nicaragua *'' Mastophora corpulenta'' ( Banks, 1898) – Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Brazil *'' Mastophora corumbatai'' Levi, 2003 – Brazil *'' Mastophora cranion'' Mello-Leitão, 1928 – Brazil *'' Mastophora diablo'' Levi, 2003 – Argentina *'' Mastophora dizzydeani'' Eberhard, 1981 – Colombia, Peru *'' Mastophora escomeli'' Levi, 2003 – Peru *'' Mastophora extraordinaria'' Holmberg, 1876 – Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina *'' Mastophora fasciata'' Reimoser, 1939 – Costa Rica, Venezuela *'' Mastophora felda'' Levi, 2003 – USA *'' Mastophora felis'' Piza, 1976 – Brazil *'' Mastophora gasteracanthoides'' (Nicolet, 1849) – Chile *'' Mastophora haywardi'' Birabén, 1946 – Argentina *'' Mastophora holmbergi'' Canals, 1931 – Paraguay, Argentina *'' Mastophora hutchinsoni'' Gertsch, 1955 – USA, Canada *'' Mastophora lara'' Levi, 2003 – Venezuela *'' Mastophora leucabulba'' (Gertsch, 1955) – USA to Honduras *'' Mastophora leucacantha'' ( Simon, 1897) – Brazil *'' Mastophora longiceps'' Mello-Leitão, 1940 – Brazil *'' Mastophora melloleitaoi'' Canals, 1931 – Brazil, Argentina *'' Mastophora obtusa'' Mello-Leitão, 1936 – Brazil *'' Mastophora pesqueiro'' Levi, 2003 – Brazil *'' Mastophora phrynosoma'' Gertsch, 1955 – USA *'' Mastophora pickeli'' Mello-Leitão, 1931 – Brazil *'' Mastophora piras'' Levi, 2003 – Brazil *'' Mastophora rabida'' Levi, 2003 – Ecuador (Galapagos Is.) *'' Mastophora reimoseri'' Levi, 2003 – Paraguay *'' Mastophora satan'' Canals, 1931 – Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina *'' Mastophora satsuma'' Levi, 2003 – USA *'' Mastophora seminole'' Levi, 2003 – USA *'' Mastophora soberiana'' Levi, 2003 – Panama *'' Mastophora stowei'' Levi, 2003 – USA *'' Mastophora timuqua'' Levi, 2003 – USA *'' Mastophora vaquera'' Gertsch, 1955 – Cuba *'' Mastophora yacare'' Levi, 2003 – Uruguay *'' Mastophora yeargani'' Levi, 2003 – USA *'' Mastophora ypiranga'' Levi, 2003 – Brazil

References

** External link ** *https://www.archentoflor.com/Mastophora__sauvegard%E9.html Araneidae genera Spiders of North America Spiders of South America {{Araneidae-stub