Idiopidae

Idiopidae, also known as armored or spiny trapdoor spiders,^[1] is a family of mygalomorph^[2] spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1889.^[3]

Armored trapdoor spiders
Idiops constructor, male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Mygalomorphae
Clade:	Avicularioidea
Family:	Idiopidae Simon, 1889
Diversity
23 genera, 441 species

Gorgyrella sp.

Behaviour

Idiopidae build burrows, and some species close these with a trapdoor lined with silk. Prothemenops siamensis from Thailand, which is about 2 cm long, builds its retreat in a streamside vertical earth bank in lower montane rainforest. Each burrow has two or three entrances that lead into a main tube. The trapdoor is a form of safety and ways of ambushing prey. Idiopidae adapt and live in many various environments as seen by the map on the far right, which leads to the various species to co-exist with other Idiopidae and other spiders outside of the family.^[4] Idiopidae are not poisonous and their bites are not fatal to humans.

Description

The spiders have large bodies, similar to those of tarantulas. In most species the males have a spur on their legs, which is used to immobilise the female and prevent her from biting during the mating process. The lateral posterior spinnerets are elongated.^[5]

The oldest known idiopid, Number 16, died at the age of 43 years.^[6]

Species

As of 2019, the World Spider Catalog accepted the following genera:^[7]

• Arbanitis L. Koch, 1874 — Australia
• Blakistonia Hogg, 1902 — Australia
• Bungulla Rix, Main, Raven & Harvey, 2017 — Australia
• Cantuaria Hogg, 1902 — New Zealand, Australia
• Cataxia Rainbow, 1914 — Australia
• Cryptoforis Wilson, Rix & Raven, 2020 — Australia
• Ctenolophus Purcell, 1904 — South Africa
• Eucanippe Rix, Main, Raven & Harvey, 2017 — Australia
• Eucyrtops Pocock, 1897 — Australia
• Euoplos Rainbow, 1914 — Australia
• Gaius Rainbow, 1914 — Australia
• Galeosoma Purcell, 1903 — South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana
• Genysa Simon, 1889 — Madagascar
• Gorgyrella Purcell, 1902 — Zimbabwe, Tanzania, South Africa
• Heligmomerus Simon, 1892 — Africa, Asia
• Hiboka Fage, 1922 — Madagascar
• Idiops Perty, 1833 — South America, Africa, Asia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Idiosoma Ausserer, 1871 — Australia
• Neocteniza Pocock, 1895 — Central America, South America
• Prothemenops Schwendinger, 1991 — Thailand
• Scalidognathus Karsch, 1892 — India, Sri Lanka
• Segregara Tucker, 1917 — South Africa
• Titanidiops Simon, 1903 — Morocco

See also

• List of Idiopidae species