Atypus
Encyclopedia
Atypus or Purse web spiders is a genus
of mygalomorph
spider
s. It occurs in Eurasia
, with one species (A. affinis) reaching into North Africa
, and one species (A. snetsingeri) in the USA. Only three of the described species occur in Europe: A. piceus, A. affinis and A. muralis.
Peasants in the southern Carpathian Mountains
used to cut up tubes built by Atypus and cover wounds with the inner lining. It reportedly facilitated healing, and even connected with the skin. This is believed to be due to antiseptic properties of spider silk
(which is made of protein
).
e are elongated. The cephalic side of the cephalothorax
is elevated. They have large chelicerae
with long and thin fangs. The male sternum
has marginal ridges..
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of mygalomorph
Mygalomorphae
The Mygalomorphae, , are an infraorder of spiders. The latter name comes from the orientation of the fangs which point straight down and do not cross each other .-Description:...
spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s. It occurs in Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
, with one species (A. affinis) reaching into North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, and one species (A. snetsingeri) in the USA. Only three of the described species occur in Europe: A. piceus, A. affinis and A. muralis.
Peasants in the southern Carpathian Mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
used to cut up tubes built by Atypus and cover wounds with the inner lining. It reportedly facilitated healing, and even connected with the skin. This is believed to be due to antiseptic properties of spider silk
Spider silk
Spider silk is a protein fiber spun by spiders. Spiders use their silk to make webs or other structures, which function as nets to catch other animals, or as nests or cocoons for protection for their offspring...
(which is made of protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
).
Identification features
They are three-clawed, medium to large sized spiders with eight eyes. They have six spinnerets with the median spinneret truncated. The prolateral side of the maxillaMaxilla
The maxilla is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper jaw. This is similar to the mandible , which is also a fusion of two halves at the mental symphysis. Sometimes The maxilla (plural: maxillae) is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper...
e are elongated. The cephalic side of the cephalothorax
Cephalothorax
The cephalothorax is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. The word cephalothorax is derived from the Greek words for head and thorax...
is elevated. They have large chelicerae
Chelicerae
The chelicerae are mouthparts of the Chelicerata, an arthropod subphylum that includes arachnids, Merostomata , and Pycnogonida . Chelicerae are pointed appendages which are used to grasp food, and are found in place of the chewing mandibles most other arthropods have...
with long and thin fangs. The male sternum
Sternum
The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bony plate shaped like a capital "T" located anteriorly to the heart in the center of the thorax...
has marginal ridges..
Species
- Atypus affinisAtypus affinisThe Purseweb spider is a common mygalomorph spider from Europe, found mainly in southern England but ranging as far north as Denmark and as far south as North Africa. It is the only British mygalomorph spider....
EichwaldKarl EichwaldKarl Eduard von Eichwald was a Russian geologist and physician.Eichwald was a Baltic German born at Mitau in Courland...
, 1830 — Britain to Ukraine, North Africa - Atypus baotianmanensis Hu, 1994 — China
- Atypus coreanus Kim, 1985 — Korea
- Atypus dorsualis Thorell, 1897 — Myanmar, Thailand
- Atypus flexus Zhu et al., 2006 — China
- Atypus formosensis Kayashima, 1943 — Taiwan
- Atypus heterothecus Zhang, 1985 — China
- Atypus javanus Thorell, 1890 — Java
- Atypus karschiAtypus karschiAtypus karschi is a mygalomorph spider that lives in Japan, China, and Taiwan. In Japan, it is known as ji-gumo.These spiders are black or dark brown and range from 17mm to 20mm. Like other spiders in its infraorder, it has fangs that point straight down rather than crossing.This spider has an...
Dönitz, 1887 — China, Taiwan, Japan - Atypus lannaianus Schwendinger, 1989 — Thailand
- Atypus largosaccatus Zhu et al., 2006 — China
- Atypus ledongensis Zhu et al., 2006 — China
- Atypus magnus Namkung, 1986 — Russia, Korea
- Atypus medius Oliger, 1999 — Russia
- Atypus muralisAtypus muralisAtypus muralis is a mygalomorph spider from Central Europe to Turkmenistan. It is very similar to Atypus piceus, but the posterior spinnerets consist of four instead of three segments. They also build tubes that can be up to one meter deep....
BertkauPhilipp BertkauPhilipp Bertkau was a German zoologist who was a native of Cologne.He studied natural sciences at the University of Bonn, where in 1872 he earned his doctorate. In 1873 he became an assistant at the botanical institute in Munich, and during the following spring was an assistant at the zoological...
, 1890 — Central Europe to Turkmenistan - Atypus pedicellatus Zhu et al., 2006 — China
- Atypus piceusAtypus piceusAtypus piceus is a mygalomorph spider of the Atypidae family. It occurs in Europe to Moldavia, and Iran and is the type species of the genus Atypus.-Description:...
(SulzerJohann Heinrich SulzerJohann Heinrich Sulzer was a Swiss entomologist.Sulzer was a resident of Winterthur. He was the author of Die Kennzeichen der Insekten, nach Anleitung des Königl and Abgekurzte Geschichte der Insecten nach dern Linnaeischen System , two of the first books on insects to adopt Carolus Linnaeus's...
, 1776) — Europe to Moldavia, Iran - Atypus quelpartensis Namkung, 2002 — Korea
- Atypus sacculatus Zhu et al., 2006 — China
- Atypus sinensis Schenkel, 1953 — China
- Atypus snetsingeri Sarno, 1973 — USA
- Atypus sternosulcus Kim et al., 2006 — Korea
- Atypus suiningensis Zhang, 1985 — China
- Atypus suthepicus Schwendinger, 1989 — Thailand
- Atypus sutherlandi Chennappaiya, 1935 — India
- Atypus suwonensis Kim et al., 2006 — Korea
- Atypus tibetensis Zhu et al., 2006 — China
- Atypus wataribabaorum Tanikawa, 2006 — Japan
- Atypus yajuni Zhu et al., 2006 — China