''Mysmenopsis'' is a
kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family
Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family
Dipluridae
The family Dipluridae, known as curtain-web spiders (or confusingly with other distantly related ones as funnel-web tarantulas) are a group of spiders in the infraorder Mygalomorphae, that have two pairs of booklungs, and chelicerae (fangs) that ...
. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in the family
Pholcidae
The Pholcidae are a family of araneomorph spiders. The family contains over 1,800 individual species of pholcids, including those commonly known as cellar spider, daddy long-legs spider, carpenter spider, daddy long-legger, vibrating spi ...
, ''M. capac'' and ''M. cienaga'' have been observed living in ''
Cyrtophora
''Cyrtophora'', the tent-web spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1895. Although they are in the "orb weaver" family, they do not build orb webs. Their tent-like, highly complex non-sticky web is sometime ...
'' (
Araneidae
Orb-weaver spiders are members of the spider family Araneidae. They are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields, and forests. The English word "orb" can mean "circular", hence the English name ...
) webs. One reason why diplurid webs are preferred seems to be that they are persistent in time and space, sometimes spanning several years.
The monotypic genus ''
Isela'' is closely related.
''Mysmenopsis furtiva'' from
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...
lives as a kleptoparasite and
commensal
Commensalism is a long-term biological interaction ( symbiosis) in which members of one species gain benefits while those of the other species neither benefit nor are harmed. This is in contrast with mutualism, in which both organisms benefit fr ...
in webs of ''
Ischnothele xera''. It steals portions of its host's prey, but also consumes minute trapped insects that are not sought after by the host. In order not to be recognized, it moves only slowly when the host does not move; else it synchronizes its rapid movements with the movements of the host. ''M. furtiva'' has been observed to feed on one end of a prey animal, while the host feeds on the other. When feeding, its legs and pedipalps remain motionless, but its abdomen sways slowly and slightly. One feeding bout can double its abdominal volume. The host shows anti-kleptoparasite behavior, amongst others by adding silk between the kleptoparasite and the feeding site.
The closely related ''M. furtiva'' and ''M. monticola'' parasitize two spider species that are also closely related, and it is believed that the two groups
coevolved.
Species
it contains fifty-two species, found in the
Americas:
* ''
Mysmenopsis alvaroi''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis amazonica''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis angamarca
''Mysmenopsis'' is a kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family Dipluridae. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in the family Phol ...
''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis archeri''
Platnick & Shadab, 1978 — Brazil
* ''
Mysmenopsis atahualpa''
Baert, 1990 — Peru, Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis awa
''Mysmenopsis'' is a kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family Dipluridae. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in the family Phol ...
''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis baerti''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis bartolozzii''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis beebei''
(Gertsch, 1960) — Trinidad
* ''
Mysmenopsis capac''
Baert, 1990 — Peru
* ''
Mysmenopsis chiquita''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2015 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis choco''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis cidrelicola''
(Simon, 1895) — Venezuela
* ''
Mysmenopsis cienaga''
Müller, 1987 — Colombia, Peru
* ''
Mysmenopsis corazon''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis cube''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis cymbia''
(Levi, 1956) — USA
* ''
Mysmenopsis dipluramigo''
Platnick & Shadab, 1978 — Panama, Colombia
* ''
Mysmenopsis femoralis''
Simon, 1897 — St. Vincent
* ''
Mysmenopsis fernandoi
''Mysmenopsis'' is a kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family Dipluridae. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in the family Pholc ...
''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2015 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis funebris''
Simon, 1897 — St. Vincent
* ''
Mysmenopsis furtiva''
Coyle & Meigs, 1989 — Jamaica
* ''
Mysmenopsis gamboa
''Mysmenopsis'' is a kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family Dipluridae. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in the family Phol ...
''
Platnick & Shadab, 1978 — Panama
* ''
Mysmenopsis guanza
''Mysmenopsis'' is a kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family Dipluridae. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in the family Phol ...
''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis guayaca''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis huascar
''Mysmenopsis'' is a kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family Dipluridae. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in the family Pholc ...
''
Baert, 1990 — Peru
* ''
Mysmenopsis hunachi''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis ischnamigo''
Platnick & Shadab, 1978 — Panama, Trinidad, Peru
* ''
Mysmenopsis ixlitla
''Mysmenopsis'' is a kleptoparasite, kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family Dipluridae. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in t ...
''
(Levi, 1956) — Mexico
* ''
Mysmenopsis junin''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis kochalkai''
Platnick & Shadab, 1978 — Colombia
* ''
Mysmenopsis lasrocas''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis lloa
''Mysmenopsis'' is a kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family Dipluridae. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in the family Phol ...
''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis mexcala
''Mysmenopsis'' is a kleptoparasite, kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family Dipluridae. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in t ...
''
Gertsch, 1960 — Mexico
* ''
Mysmenopsis monticola
''Mysmenopsis'' is a kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family Dipluridae. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in the family Phol ...
''
Coyle & Meigs, 1989 — Jamaica
* ''
Mysmenopsis onorei
''Mysmenopsis'' is a kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family Dipluridae. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in the family Phol ...
''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2015 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis otokiki
''Mysmenopsis'' is a kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family Dipluridae. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in the family Pholc ...
''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis otonga
''Mysmenopsis'' is a kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family Dipluridae. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in the family Pholc ...
''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2015 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis pachacutec''
Baert, 1990 — Peru
* ''
Mysmenopsis palpalis''
(Kraus, 1955) — Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras
* ''
Mysmenopsis penai
''Mysmenopsis'' is a kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family Dipluridae. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in the family Pholc ...
''
Platnick & Shadab, 1978 — Ecuador, Colombia
* ''
Mysmenopsis pululahua
''Mysmenopsis'' is a kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family Dipluridae. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in the family Phol ...
''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis salazarae''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis schlingeri
''Mysmenopsis'' is a kleptoparasitic genus of tiny tropical and subtropical American spiders in the family Mysmenidae. Most live in the funnelwebs of spiders in the family Dipluridae. ''M. archeri'' lives on webs of a species in the family Pholc ...
''
Platnick & Shadab, 1978 — Peru
* ''
Mysmenopsis shushufindi''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis tengellacompa''
Platnick, 1993 — Costa Rica
* ''
Mysmenopsis tepuy''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis tibialis''
(Bryant, 1940) — Cuba
* ''
Mysmenopsis tungurahua''
Dupérré & Tapia, 2020 — Ecuador
* ''
Mysmenopsis viracocha''
Baert, 1990 — Peru
* ''
Mysmenopsis wygodzinskyi''
Platnick & Shadab, 1978 — Peru
* ''
Mysmenopsis yupanqui''
Baert, 1990 — Peru
References
* Chickering, A.M. (1960). The Female of ''Lucarachne beebei'' Gertsch (Araneae: Symphytognathidae). ''
Psyche'' 67:95-9
PDF* Platnick, N.I. & Shadab, M.U. (1978). A review of the spider genus ''Mysmenopsis'' (Araneae, Mysmenidae). ''American Museum Novitates'' 2661
PDFAbstract* Coyle, F.A. & Meigs, T.E. (1989). Two new species of kleptoparasitic ''Mysmenopsis'' (Araneae, Mysmenidae) from Jamaica. ''Journal of Arachnology'' 17(1):59-7
PDF* Coyle, F.A., O'Shields, T.C. & Perlmutter, D.G. (1991). Observations on the behavior of the kleptoparasitic spider, ''Mysmenopsis furtiva'' (Araneae, Mysmenidae). ''Journal of Arachnology'' 19(1):62-6
PDF
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3331694
Mysmenidae
Spiders of North America
Spiders of South America
Araneomorphae genera