| Eucteniza | |
|---|---|
| |
| Eucteniza relata, female (top) and male | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Mygalomorphae |
| Family: | Euctenizidae |
| Genus: | Eucteniza Ausserer, 1875 |
| Type species | |
| Eucteniza mexicana Ausserer, 1875
| |
| Diversity | |
| 14 species | |
| |
| Eucteniza species in North America | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Eucteniza ( /juːktəˈnaɪzə/ yook-tə-NY-zə[1]) is a genus of trapdoor spiders in the family Euctenizidae containing at least 14 species occurring in Mexico and the southern United States. Species are distinguished by a softened rear portion of the carapace, and males possess large spines on the first two pairs of walking legs that are used to hold females during mating. Like other trapdoor spiders they create burrows with a hinged lid, from which they await passing insects and other arthropods to prey upon. Many species are known from only one or two localities, or from only male specimens. More species are expected to be discovered. Eucteniza is closely related to spiders of the genera Entychides and Neoapachella.
- ^ Comstock, John Henry (1965). Gertsch, Willis J. (ed.). The Spider Book: A Manual for the Study of the Spiders and Their Near Relatives (Revised ed.). Ithaca, N.Y.: Comstock Publishing Associates. p. 235. ISBN 0-8014-0084-8.