Ctenizidae

For the New York City social group, see Trap Door Spiders. For other spiders called "trapdoor spiders", see List of trapdoor spiders.

Ctenizidae
Temporal range: Palaeogene–present
Cteniza sauvagesi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Clade: Avicularioidea
Family: Ctenizidae
Thorell, 1887
Genera

See text

Diversity[1]
2 genera, 5 species

Ctenizidae is a small family of mygalomorph spiders that construct burrows with a cork-like trapdoor made of soil, vegetation, and silk. They may be called trapdoor spiders, as are other, similar species, such as those of the families Liphistiidae, Barychelidae, and Cyrtaucheniidae, and some species in the Idiopidae and Nemesiidae. The name comes from the distinctive behavior of the spiders to construct trapdoors, and ambush prey from beneath them.[2]

In 2018, the family Halonoproctidae was split off from the Ctenizidae.[3] A further genus, Stasimopus, was split off into its own family, Stasimopidae, in 2020.[3][4] The family currently consists of two genera and five species.[1]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference WSC_stats was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Buchli, Harro H.R. (1969-02-01). "Hunting Behavior in the Ctenizidae". American Zoologist. 9 (1): 175–193. doi:10.1093/icb/9.1.175. ISSN 0003-1569.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference WSC_f20 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference OpatHamiHediMont20 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).