Heptathela

Heptathela
Heptathela kimurai
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Subphylum:Chelicerata
Class:Arachnida
Order:Araneae
Suborder:Mesothelae
Family:Liphistiidae
Genus:Heptathela
Kishida, 1923[1]
Species

See text.

Diversity[1]
10 species

Heptathela is a genus of spiders that includes the Kimura spider (Heptathela kimurai). They are trapdoor spiders of the family Liphistiidae and are found in Japan, including Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands.[1] Spiders of this genus lack venom glands.[2]

Females are up to 25 mm long, males slightly smaller. Burrows have an oval shaped door which is hinged across the long diameter.[3]

Name

The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek hepta "seven", referring to the number of spinneret glands.

Species

As of April 2017, the World Spider Catalog accepted the following species:[1]

  • Heptathela amamiensis Haupt, 1983 – Ryukyu Is.
  • Heptathela helios Tanikawa & Miyashita, 2014 – Okinawa Is.
  • Heptathela higoensis Haupt, 1983 – Japan
  • Heptathela kanenoi Ono, 1996 – Ryukyu Is.
  • Heptathela kikuyai Ono, 1998 – Japan
  • Heptathela kimurai (Kishida, 1920) (type species) – Japan
  • Heptathela nishikawai Ono, 1998 – Japan
  • Heptathela yaginumai Ono, 1998 – Japan
  • Heptathela yakushimaensis Ono, 1998 – Japan
  • Heptathela yanbaruensis Haupt, 1983 – Okinawa

Many of the species formerly placed in this genus have been transferred to other genera in the family Liphistiidae, including Sinothela, Songthela and Vinathela.[1]

Social reference

This is the genus of spider referenced by Vincent Price in the introduction to Alice Cooper's The Black Widow on his Welcome to my Nightmare album.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Gen. Heptathela Kishida, 1923". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2017-04-01.
  2. ↑ Forster, R. R. & Platnick, N. I. (1984). "A review of the archaeid spiders and their relatives, with notes on the limits of the superfamily Palpimanoidea (Arachnida, Araneae)" (abstract). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 178: 1–106. Retrieved 2008-10-13. Full text at "A review of the archaeid spiders and their relatives" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-10-13. (60 MB)
  3. ↑ Murphy, Frances & Murphy, John (2000). An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Nature Society. ISBN 978-983-9681-17-8.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.