''Myrmekiaphila'' 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 ...

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 ...

n mygalomorph trapdoor spiders in the family

Euctenizidae The Euctenizidae (formerly Cyrtaucheniidae subfamily Euctenizinae) are a family of mygalomorph spiders. They are now considered to be more closely related to Idiopidae. Etymology The name comes from the Greek prefix (''eu-''), meaning "valu ...

, and was first described by G. F. Atkinson in 1886. All described

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the southeastern United States. Originally placed with the Ctenizidae, it was moved to the

wafer trapdoor spider The family Cyrtaucheniidae, known as wafer-lid trapdoor spiders, are a widespread family of Mygalomorphae spiders. Description Wafer-lid spiders are generally large and range in color between light brown and black. Their eyes are placed in tw ...

s in 1985, then to the Euctenizidae in 2012. ''Myrmekiaphila'' appears as the sister group to all southwestern Euctenizidae with the exception of '' Apomastus'', which in turn is the sister group to all euctenizines. ''M. flavipes'' was transferred from ''

Aptostichus ''Aptostichus'' is a genus of North American Mygalomorphae, mygalomorph spiders in the family Euctenizidae, and was first described by Eugène Simon in 1891. They are found predominantly in southern California, United States. Behavior Members of ...

'' in 2007.

Description

The known species of this genus resemble each other in appearance and behavior. The

carapace A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the unde ...

is long and wide. Females are uniformly colored, with some dusky stripes on the dorsum of the abdomen. Colors range from yellowish red to dark reddish brown. The palpal tibia of the males are modified in a way that distinguishes them from other mygalomorph spiders of

. The first legs in males are modified as mating claspers. All members live in subterranean, silk-lined burrows covered by a silken-soil trap door. Some species construct side chambers that can be closed off by secondary trap doors, a unique feature among Cyrtaucheniidae. While the related '' Promyrmekiaphila'' and ''

'' also build side chambers, they do not close them with trap doors. G. F. Atkinson collected his specimens while hunting for

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

s, often finding them in close proximity to ant nests. The genus name is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

('' myrmex''), meaning "ant", and ('' philein''), meaning "to love", referencing their apparent fondness of ant nests.

Species

it contains twelve species restricted to the southeastern

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 America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, but found in a wide variety of

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s. These range from northern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

along the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

southward through

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and northern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

into the southeastern plain of

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and the temperate deciduous forest of central

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

with dry climates and relatively high altitudes. *'' Myrmekiaphila comstocki'' Bishop & Crosby, 1926 – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila coreyi'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila flavipes'' ( Petrunkevitch, 1925) – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila fluviatilis'' ( Hentz, 1850) – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila foliata'' Atkinson, 1886 (

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. * ...

) – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila howelli'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila jenkinsi'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila millerae'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila minuta'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila tigris'' Bond & Ray, 2012 – USA *'' Myrmekiaphila torreya'' Gertsch & Wallace, 1936 – USA Three species groups are currently recognized. These are only intended to facilitate identification based on the male palp; it is not known if they represent monophyletic taxa. ''M. flavipes'' is only known from females and thus not grouped. * ''foliata'' group :* '' Myrmekiaphila comstocki'' Bishop & Crosby, 1926 :* '' Myrmekiaphila coreyi'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 :* '' Myrmekiaphila foliata'' Atkinson, 1886 :* '' Myrmekiaphila tigris'' Bond et al., 2012Bond, Jason, Chris Hamilton, Nicole Garrison, Charles Ray. 2012. Phylogenetic reconsideration of ''Myrmekiaphila'' systematics with a description of the new trapdoor spider species ''Myrmekiaphila tigris'' (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Cyrtaucheniidae, Euctenizinae) from Auburn, Alabama. ZooKeys 190 (2012): 95-109. * ''fluviatilis'' group :* '' Myrmekiaphila fluviatilis'' ( Hentz, 1850) :* '' Myrmekiaphila howelli'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 :* '' Myrmekiaphila jenkinsi'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 :* '' Myrmekiaphila millerae'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 :* '' Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 :* '' Myrmekiaphila torreya'' Gertsch & Wallace, 1936 * ''minuta'' group :* '' Myrmekiaphila minuta'' Bond & Platnick, 2007 * unplaced species :* '' Myrmekiaphila flavipes'' ( Petrunkevitch, 1925)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1932985 Euctenizidae Mygalomorphae genera Spiders of the United States