Caponiidae
Encyclopedia
Spiders of the ecribellate haplogyne family Caponiidae are unusual in that most species have only two eyes, which is unheard of in other spiders. Other species have four, six or eight eyes. Even in a single species, sometimes the number of eyes changes from spiderling to adult.
. The carapace
(cephalothorax or prosoma) is orange and the abdomen
(opisthosoma) light gray.
The two-eyed species have their two eyes in the anterior middle of the carapace.
. Calponia harrisonfordi
from California
seems to be the most primitive member of the family. Their phylogenetic relationships have long been enigmatic, but in the early 1990s it was determined that they are probably a sister group of the Tetrablemmidae
plus the four families inside the Dysderoidea
superfamily.
The subfamily Nopinae consists at least of the genera Nops, Nopsides, Orthonops and Tarsonops. The remaining genera are unlikely to form a monophyletic
group.
and America
from Argentina
to the USA.
, recognizing his efforts on behalf of the American Museum
.
The Chilean caponiid fauna differs from that of the rest of the Neotropics in lacking members of the Nopinae (named after the genus Nops). Three genera newly described by Norman I. Platnick
in 1994 were thus named Notnops, Taintnops and Tisentnops, emphasizing this fact. The only Taintnops species, T. goloboffi, is named in honor of one of the collectors, P.A. Goloboff.
Description
These spiders of about 2 to 5mm are rarely noticed, but generally look like somewhat faded woodlouse hunter spiders in the genus DysderaDysdera
Dysdera is a genus of spiders from the family Dysderidae, with more than 200 species. They occur mostly in Eurasia from Central Asia to Spain, extending into northern Africa . However, at least two species occur in South America Dysdera is a genus of spiders from the family Dysderidae, with more...
. The carapace
Carapace
A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...
(cephalothorax or prosoma) is orange and the abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
(opisthosoma) light gray.
The two-eyed species have their two eyes in the anterior middle of the carapace.
Eye numbers
- Eight eyes: Calponia, Caponia
- Six eyes: Caponina (but may also have two, three, four or five eyes)
- Four eyes: Nopsides, Notnops
- Two eyes: Nops, Orthonops, Diplogena, Taintnops, Tisentnops
Habits
Their habits are for the most part unknown. At least some species are known to hunt other spiders.Relationships
The fact that they are ecribellate and haplogyne indicates that they are probably relatively primitivePrimitive (biology)
Primitive in the sense most relevant to phylogenetics means resembling the first living things and in particular resembling them in the simple nature of their anatomy and behaviour...
. Calponia harrisonfordi
Calponia harrisonfordi
Calponia harrisonfordi is a species of spider discovered in 1993 by the arachnologist Norman I. Platnick, and named after the film actor Harrison Ford to thank him for narrating a documentary for the Natural History Museum in London. It is the only species of the genus Calponia, and is one of the...
from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
seems to be the most primitive member of the family. Their phylogenetic relationships have long been enigmatic, but in the early 1990s it was determined that they are probably a sister group of the Tetrablemmidae
Tetrablemmidae
The Tetrablemmidae are a spider family with 126 described species in 29 genera that occur throughout the world tropics. They are sometimes called armored spiders....
plus the four families inside the Dysderoidea
Dysderoidea
The Dysderoidea are a superfamily of araneomorph spiders. They contain four families of six-eyed spiders:* Dysderidae* Oonopidae* Orsolobidae* Segestriidae...
superfamily.
The subfamily Nopinae consists at least of the genera Nops, Nopsides, Orthonops and Tarsonops. The remaining genera are unlikely to form a monophyletic
Monophyly
In common cladistic usage, a monophyletic group is a taxon which forms a clade, meaning that it contains all the descendants of the possibly hypothetical closest common ancestor of the members of the group. The term is synonymous with the uncommon term holophyly...
group.
Distribution
The family can be found in AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and America
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
from Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
to the USA.
Names
Calponia is a contraction of Californian Caponia, because the single species Calponia harrisonfordi has, like the African genus Caponia eight eyes. The species name is in honor of Harrison FordHarrison Ford
Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
, recognizing his efforts on behalf of the American Museum
American Museum
The American Museum in Britain is based at Claverton Manor, near Bath, England, in a house, designed by Jeffry Wyatville and built in the 1820s on the site of a manor bought by Ralph Allen in 1758...
.
The Chilean caponiid fauna differs from that of the rest of the Neotropics in lacking members of the Nopinae (named after the genus Nops). Three genera newly described by Norman I. Platnick
Norman I. Platnick
Norman I. Platnick is an American arachnologist, and the Peter J. Solomon Family Curator of the invertebrate zoology department of the American Museum of Natural History. A 1973 Ph.D...
in 1994 were thus named Notnops, Taintnops and Tisentnops, emphasizing this fact. The only Taintnops species, T. goloboffi, is named in honor of one of the collectors, P.A. Goloboff.
Genera
- Calponia PlatnickNorman I. PlatnickNorman I. Platnick is an American arachnologist, and the Peter J. Solomon Family Curator of the invertebrate zoology department of the American Museum of Natural History. A 1973 Ph.D...
, 1993 (USA) - Caponia Simon, 1887 (Africa)
- Caponina Simon, 1891 (Central and South America)
- DiploglenaDiploglenaDiploglena is a spider genus with one single species, Diploglena capensis that is endemic to South Africa and neighboring nations...
PurcellWilliam Frederick PurcellWilliam Frederick Purcell was a South African arachnologist and biologist.-External links:...
, 1904 (South Africa) - Nops MacleayAlexander MacleayHon. Alexander Macleay MLC FLS FRS was a leading member of the Linnean Society and a fellow of the Royal Society.Macleay was born on Ross-shire, Scotland, eldest son of William Macleay, provost of Wick...
, 1839 (Caribic, Central and South America) - Nopsides ChamberlinRalph Vary ChamberlinRalph Vary Chamberlin was an American zoologist from Salt Lake City, Utah. He received his PhD from Cornell University in 1904. He was a professor of zoology at Brigham Young University from 1908-1911, and at the University of Utah from 1925-1938....
, 1924 (Mexico) - NotnopsNotnopsNotnops calderoni is a four-eyed spider species from Chile. Males are about 2mm, females almost 3mm.-Name:The genus name is a pun on the fact that there are no caponiid spiders of the subfamily Nopinae in Chile...
Platnick, 1994 (Chile) - Orthonops Chamberlin, 1924 (USA, Mexico)
- Taintnops Platnick, 1994 (Chile)
- Tarsonops Chamberlin, 1924 (Mexico)
- Tisentnops Platnick, 1994 (Chile)