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The spider family 'Liphistiidae' comprises 5 genera and 87 species [1]. They are among the most primitive living spiders, belonging to the suborder Mesothelae. They are rarely seen tube-dwelling spiders from Southeast Asia, China, and Japan that construct rudimentary trap-doors, characterized by their downward pointing, daggerlike chelicerae without venom glands^[1], and by having a segmented series of plates on the upper surface of their abdomens. Some make silk trip-lines radiating away from the burrow entrance. They are active at night and live for many years, and females molt aver maturity. Adult males wander in search for females, which rarely leave their burrows. The respiratory system consists only of booklungs, which could be a reason why these spiders show a quite low level of activity.Coddington, J.A. & Levi, H.W. (1991). Systematics and Evolution of Spiders (Araneae). ''Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst.'' 22:565-592
In caves in Malaysia, [2], three different species of ''Liphistius'' are known, and each species is endemic to just one or two caves. The most well known of them is ''Liphistius batuensis'', which is found in Batu Caves. In Japan, the Kimura-gumo (''Heptathela kimurai'') is rather well-known.
Although they are Orthognatha (having downward pointing chelicerae), like the Mygalomorphae, there is no close relationship between those two. It is thought that the common ancestor of all spiders was orthognath, and that in the Opisthothelae, comprising of Mygalomorphae (mostly tarantulas) and Araneomorphae (all other spiders), only the Araneomorphae changed their alignment of chelicerae, while the mygalomorphs retained this symplesiomorph feature.Coddington, J.A. & Levi, H.W. (1991). Systematics and Evolution of Spiders (Araneae). ''Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst.'' 22:565-592

Contents

Genera

See also

References

Genera

★ ''Heptathela'' Kishida, 1923 (Vietnam, Japan, China)

★ ''Liphistius'' Schiödte, 1849 (Southeast Asia)

★ ''Nanthela'' Haupt, 2003 (Hong Kong, Vietnam)

★ ''Ryuthela'' Haupt, 1983 (Ryukyu Islands, Okinawa)

★ ''Songthela'' Ono, 2000 (China)

See also

★ List of Liphistiidae species

★ Spider families

References

1. Haupt, J. (2004). The Mesothelae - a monograph of an exceptional group of spiders (Araneae: Mesothelae). ''Zoologica'' 154:8 , ISBN 3-510-55041-2 (Abstract)


★ Ono, H. (1999) Spiders of the genus ''Heptathela'' (Araneae, Liphistiidae) from Vietnam, with notes on their natural history. The Journal of Arachnology 27(1): 37-43. PDF