Selenopidae, also called wall crab spiders, wall spiders and flatties, is a family of

araneomorph The Araneomorphae (also called the Labidognatha) are an infraorder of spiders. They are distinguishable by chelicerae (fangs) that point diagonally forward and cross in a pinching action, in contrast to the Mygalomorphae (tarantulas and their cl ...

spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species d ...

s first described by

Eugène Simon Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects and spiders, but also on birds and plants. He is by far the most prolific spider taxonomist in history, describing over 4 ...

in 1897. It contains over 280 species in nine genera, of which '' Selenops'' is the most well-known. This family is just one of several families whose English name includes the phrase "crab spider". These spiders are often called "Flatties" due to their flattened dorsal profile. The

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans g ...

name for these spiders is "Muurspinnekop." They are a variety of colors, including shades of grey, brown, yellow, and orange, with darker markings on the cephalothorax and spots or mottling on the abdomen, and annulations on the legs of most species. They are very flat dorsoventrally, and have two tarsal claws and laterigrade legs. Their running and striking speeds place them among the world’s fastest animals, making them difficult to capture, while their coloring often makes them difficult to see. Their spin is the fastest leg-driven turning maneuver of any terrestrial animal, being able to strike their prey in an eighth of a second (three times the speed of a blink); therefore, the spiders' spins are being used by researchers in robotics applications. Dr. Zeng of UC Merced claims that the flattie spiders' "outward stance," which "tracks parallel to the ground" allows them to spin rapidly, giving them a "wider range of unrestricted motion." Each of their legs face a different direction. Like most other

Entelegynae The Entelegynae or entelegynes are a subgroup of araneomorph spiders, the largest of the two main groups into which the araneomorphs were traditionally divided. Females have a genital plate ( epigynum) and a "flow through" fertilization system; m ...

, they have eight eyes arranged in two rows; one with six and one with two. They occur worldwide, from sea level to over , and are primarily tropical and subtropical, though several species are found in deserts. They are commonly found on walls or under rocks. '' Selenops'' is the most widely distributed and ''

Anyphops ''Anyphops'' is a genus of wall spiders that was first described by P. L. G. Benoit in 1968. Species it contains sixty-four species, found in Africa and on Saint Helena: *'' A. alticola'' (Lawrence, 1940) – South Africa *'' A. amatolae'' (Law ...

'' is found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. The remaining genera have more specific distributions. At least one (possibly extinct) species of ''Garcorops'', '' G. jadis'', is known only from subfossil

copal Copal is tree resin, particularly the aromatic resins from the copal tree '' Protium copal'' ( Burseraceae) used by the cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonially burned incense and for other purposes. More generally, copal include ...

Genera

South African Flattie Spider From Kruger National Park

, the

World Spider Catalog The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...

accepts the following genera: *'' Amamanganops'' Crews & Harvey, 2011 — Philippines *''

'' Benoit, 1968 — Africa *'' Garcorops'' Corronca, 2003 — Comoros, Madagascar *'' Godumops'' Crews & Harvey, 2011 — Papua New Guinea *'' Hovops'' Benoit, 1968 — Madagascar *'' Karaops'' Crews & Harvey, 2011 — Australia *'' Makdiops'' Crews & Harvey, 2011 — India, Nepal *'' Selenops'' Latreille, 1819 — Asia, North America, Caribbean, South America, Africa, Central America *'' Siamspinops'' Dankittipakul & Corronca, 2009 — Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q11714 Araneomorphae families

Genera

See also

References

External links