Crevice weaver
Encyclopedia
The crevice weaver spiders (super-family Filistatoidea, family Filistatidae) contain primitive cribellate. They are haplogyne weavers of funnel or tube webs. The family contains 17 genera
and more than hundred described species worldwide. One of the most abundant members of this family in the Americas
is the Southern house spider
(Kukulcania hibernalis). Named after the fierce Meso-American
god Kukulkan
, the females are large (up to nearly 20 mm) dark-colored spiders and males are light brown, smaller (about 10 mm.), but more long-legged and with palpi
that are held together in front of their carapace
s like the horn of a unicorn
. The males also have a darker streak on the center of the dorsal
carapace that causes them to be often mistaken for brown recluse spider
s. The tiny members of the genus Filistatinella are like miniature versions of Kukulcania. The nominate genus Filistata is Afro-Eurasia
n in distribution. In many older books the species from the Americas now placed in the genus Kukulcania are placed in Filistata.
Genera
Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...
and more than hundred described species worldwide. One of the most abundant members of this family in the Americas
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...
is the Southern house spider
Southern house spider
The Southern house spider is a species of large North American spider which exhibit strong sexual dimorphism. The males very closely resemble brown recluses, having similar coloration and body structure, though they have slender bodies and are uniformly brown, unlike the brown recluse. The females...
(Kukulcania hibernalis). Named after the fierce Meso-American
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
god Kukulkan
Kukulkan
Kukulkan is the name of a Maya snake deity that also serves to designate historical persons. The depiction of the feathered serpent deity is present in other cultures of Mesoamerica. Kukulkan is closely related to the god Q'uq'umatz of the K'iche' Maya and to Quetzalcoatl of the Aztecs...
, the females are large (up to nearly 20 mm) dark-colored spiders and males are light brown, smaller (about 10 mm.), but more long-legged and with palpi
Pedipalp
Pedipalps , are the second pair of appendages of the prosoma in the subphylum Chelicerata. They are traditionally thought to be homologous with mandibles in Crustacea and insects, although more recent studies Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi), are the second pair of appendages of the...
that are held together in front of their 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...
s like the horn of a unicorn
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...
. The males also have a darker streak on the center of the dorsal
Dorsum (biology)
In anatomy, the dorsum is the upper side of animals that typically run, fly, or swim in a horizontal position, and the back side of animals that walk upright. In vertebrates the dorsum contains the backbone. The term dorsal refers to anatomical structures that are either situated toward or grow...
carapace that causes them to be often mistaken for brown recluse spider
Brown recluse spider
The brown recluse spider or violin spider, Loxosceles reclusa, is a member of the family Sicariidae . The spider has a venomous bite....
s. The tiny members of the genus Filistatinella are like miniature versions of Kukulcania. The nominate genus Filistata is Afro-Eurasia
Afro-Eurasia
Afro-Eurasia or less commonly Afrasia or Eurafrasia is the term used to describe the largest landmass on earth. It may be defined as a supercontinent, consisting of Africa and Eurasia...
n in distribution. In many older books the species from the Americas now placed in the genus Kukulcania are placed in Filistata.
Genera
The categorization into subfamilies follows Joel Hallan's Biology Catalog.- Filistatinae Ausserer, 1867
- FilistataFilistataFilistata is a genus of spiders that occurs mainly in Eurasia up to North Africa and the Canary Islands, with one species found in Mexico.-Species:* Filistata afghana Roewer, 1962 * Filistata annulipes Kulczynski, 1908...
LatreillePierre André LatreillePierre André Latreille was a French zoologist, specialising in arthropods. Having trained as a Roman Catholic priest before the French Revolution, Latreille was imprisoned, and only regained his freedom after recognising a rare species he found in the prison, Necrobia ruficollis...
, 1810 (Mediterranean, Asia, Mexico) - KukulcaniaKukulcaniaKukulcania is a genus of spiders that is found in the Americas, for example in the USA and Peru.-Species:* Kukulcania arizonica * Kukulcania brevipes...
Lehtinen, 1967 (America) - Sahastata Benoit, 1968 (Mediterranean to India)
- Zaitunia Lehtinen, 1967 (Iran, Israel, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan)
- Prithinae Gray, 1995
- Afrofilistata Benoit, 1968 (Africa)
- Andoharano Lehtinen, 1967 (Madagascar)
- Filistatinella GertschWillis J. GertschWillis John Gertsch was an American arachnologist. He classified a number of species, including the Brown recluse spider and the Tooth cave spider....
& IvieWilton IvieWilton Ivie was an American entomologist, who descriped Arachnida-species. . He was employed by the American Museum of Natural History in New York.Wilton Ivie: B.S., M.S. in biology from University of Utah....
, 1936 (USA) - Filistatoides O. P-CambridgeOctavius Pickard-CambridgeThe Reverend Octavius Pickard-Cambridge FRS was an English clergyman and zoologist.Pickard-Cambridge was born in Bloxworth rectory, Dorset, the fifth son of Revd George Pickard, rector and squire of Bloxworth: the family changed their name to Pickard-Cambridge in 1848...
, 1899 (Guatemala, Cuba, Chile) - Lihuelistata Ramírez & Grismado, 1997 (Argentina)
- MisionellaMisionellaMisionella is a genus of crevice weaver spiders. Currently there are two described living species.A spider fossil that was found in 15 to 20 million year old Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic was in 2005 described as Misionella didicostae...
Ramírez & Grismado, 1997 (Brazil, Argentina) - Pikelinia Mello-Leitão, 1946 (Argentina, Colombia, Galapagos)
- PrithaPrithaPritha is a genus of spiders, in the family Filistatidae . Most of its 22 described species are found in Asia, from Israel to China and the Philippines. Several species occur in the Mediterranean, and one species is found on New Guinea....
Lehtinen, 1967 (Asia, Mediterranean, New Guinea) - Wandella Gray, 1994 (Australia)
- Yardiella Gray, 1994 (Australia)
- incertae sedisIncertae sedis, is a term used to define a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Uncertainty at specific taxonomic levels is attributed by , , and similar terms.-Examples:*The fossil plant Paradinandra suecica could not be assigned to any...
- Microfilistata Zonstein, 1990 (Tajikistan)
- Tricalamus Wang, 1987 (China)