Hexathelidae

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Hexathelidae
Hadronyche modesta

Hadronyche modesta

Systematics
Class : Arachnids (arachnida)
Order : Spiders (Araneae)
Subordination : Tarantulas (Mygalomorphae)
Partial order : Tuberculotae
Superfamily : Hexatheloidea
Family : Hexathelidae
Scientific name of the  superfamily
Hexatheloidea
???
Scientific name of the  family
Hexathelidae
Simon , 1892

The Hexathelidae is the only family in the superfamily Hexatheloidea and belongs to the tarantula-like (Mygalomorphae). Some representatives of this spider family are potentially dangerous to humans. In addition to the Hexathelidae, this article also deals with the families Atracidae , Macrothelidae and Porrhothelidae , whose genera were previously assigned to the Hexathelidae.

description

These spiders are relatively large and between 10 and 50 millimeters in length. The body is typically three times as long as it is wide. They are dark in color, with the color ranging from dark brown to black. The spinnerets are very long and look like small legs. The eyes sit close together on an eyebrow.

Like all animals of the Mygalomorphae , they have downward-facing chelicerae . Their poison depot is in the chelicerae, which are relatively large and strong for arachnids. It is said that they bite through thin fingernails, such as those of children, without any problems.

habitat

distribution

Most of the Hexathelidae spiders are found in Australia , New Zealand and Asia . The species Macrothele calpeiana occurs in North Africa and Spain , there are two species in South America and two more live in Central Africa.

The representatives of this family typically live in self-dug burrows or knotholes. The entrance to the cave is usually always processed by yourself. The spiders take a walk which they spin out with a web. This behavior also occurs in other tarantula species . Due to the size of the spiders, these cobweb-lined tubes are very noticeable. That is the reason why they are called "funnel-web spiders" in the English-speaking world . ("funnel" for funnel and "web" for network). The caves are mainly found near natural rocks. They therefore like to come close to houses, where they can find suitable niches in gardens or on the wall of a house. They are nocturnal.

Toxicity

There are three genera that are dangerous to humans. The best known are the genus Atrax with the well-known representative Atrax robustus and the genus Hadronyche , which occur in Australia and on the islands of the South Pacific. The third genus with toxic effects for humans is macrothele - this occurs mainly in Taiwan and in the eastern parts of Asia .

Systematics

Hexathelidae according to Raven, 1980

According to Raven , the family comprises 12 genera.

Hexathelidae s.str. according to Hedin, 2018

Hedin et al. rewrote the Hexthelidae in 2018 and set up three new families, whose genera were previously assigned to the Hexathelidae. The original Hexathelidae sensu Raven resulted in the Hexathelidae s.str., Atracidae, Macrothelidae and Porrhothelidae.

Family Hexathelidae s.str.
The World Spider Catalog lists for the Hexathelidae s.str. currently 7 genera and 45 species. (As of December 2018)

Family Atracidae Hogg , 1901
The World Spider Catalog currently lists 3 genera and 35 species for the Atracidae. (As of December 2018)

Family Macrothelidae Simon , 1892
The World Spider Catalog currently lists only 1 genus with 32 species for the Macrothelidae. (As of May 2019)

Family Porrhothelidae Hedin, Derkarabetian, Ramírez, Vink & Bond , 2018
The World Spider Catalog currently lists only 1 genus with 5 species for the Porrhothelidae. (As of December 2018)

literature

  • Simon, E. (1892): Histoire naturelle des araignées. Paris. Vol. 1, pp. 1-256.
  • Raven, RJ & Platnick, NI (1978): A new genus of the spider family Dipluridae from Chile (Araneae, Mygalomorphae). J. Arachnol. Vol. 6, pp. 73-77 ( PDF ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Raven, RJ (1980): The evolution and biogeography of the spider family mygalomorph hexathelidae (Araneae, Chelicerata). J. Arachnol. Vol. 8, pp. 251-266.
  2. ↑ Goloboff, Pablo A. (1993): A Reanalysis of Mygalomorph Spider Families (Araneae). American Museum Novitates, American Museum of Natural History.
  3. ↑ Hedin, M., Derkarabetian, S., Ramírez, MJ, Vink, C. & Bond, JE (2018): Phylogenomic reclassification of the world's most venomous spiders (Mygalomorphae, Atracinae), with implications for venom evolution. Scientific Reports. Vol. 8 (1636), pp. 1-7. doi: 10.1038 / s41598-018-19946-2 ( PDF ).
  4. ↑ Natural History Museum of the Burgergemeinde Bern: World Spider Catalog Version 19.5 - Hexathelidae . Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  5. ↑ Natural History Museum of the Burgergemeinde Bern: World Spider Catalog Version 19.5 - Atracidae . Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  6. ↑ Natural History Museum of the Burgergemeinde Bern: World Spider Catalog Version 20.0 - Macrothelidae . Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  7. ↑ Natural History Museum of the Burgergemeinde Bern: World Spider Catalog Version 19.5 - Porrhothelidae . Retrieved December 22, 2018.

Web links

Commons : Hexathelidae  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Hexathelidae s.str. in the World Spider Catalog Atracidae in the World Spider Catalog Macrothelidae in the World Spider Catalog Porrhothelidae in the World Spider Catalog