Tidarren

Tidarren
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Suborder: Araneomorphae
Family: Theridiidae
Genus: Tidarren

Tidarren is a genus of spiders. The males are much smaller than females.

The males of this genus amputate one of their palps before maturation and enter their adult life with one palp only.[1] It is assumed that this is done to increase mobility, as the palps are disproportionately large compared to the size of the body.

In the Yemeni species Tidarren argo, the remaining palp is then torn off by the female. Spider males use their palp to transfer semen into the female. The separated palp remains attached to the female's epigynum for about four hours and apparently continues to function independently. In the meantime the female feeds on the palpless male.

Distribution

Tidarren species occur in Africa, and in Middle and South America.

Species

Tidarren Chamberlin & Ivie, 1934

  • Tidarren argo Knoflach & van Harten, 2001 (Yemen)
  • Tidarren chevalieri (Berland, 1936) (Canary Is., Cape Verde Is.)
  • Tidarren cuneolatum (Tullgren, 1910) (Central, East Africa, Yemen)
  • Tidarren haemorrhoidale (Bertkau, 1880) (USA to Argentina)
  • Tidarren levii Schmidt, 1957 (Congo)
  • Tidarren mixtum (O. P.-Cambridge, 1896) (Mexico to Costa Rica)
  • Tidarren sisyphoides (Walckenaer, 1842) (USA to Colombia, West Indies)

References

  1. ↑ Vollrath F, Parker GA (1992) Sexual dimorphism and distorted sex ratios in spiders. Nature 360(6400): 156-159 (doi:10.1038/360156a0)


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.