Nemesiidae is a family of mygalomorph[1] spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1889,[2] and raised to family status in 1985. Before becoming its own family, it was considered part of "Dipluridae".[3] The family is sometimes referred to as wishbone spiders due to the shape of their burrows.[4]

Nemesiidae
Temporal range: Eocene–present
Calisoga sp.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Clade: Avicularioidea
Family: Nemesiidae
Simon, 1892
Diversity
10 genera, 154 species

Description

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Burrow of Nemesia cavicola

Nemesiidae are relatively large spiders with robust legs and a body that is nearly three times as long as it is wide. They are darkly colored, brown to black, though some have silvery hairs on their carapace.[5] Atmetochilus females can grow over 4 centimetres (1.6 in) long.

They live in burrows, often with a hinged trapdoor. This door is pushed up while the spider waits for passing prey. They rarely leave their burrows, catching prey and withdrawing as quickly as possible. Some of these burrows have side tubes. For the east-Asian genus Sinopesa it is uncertain whether it builds burrows at all.[6]

Genera

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Raveniola chayi, female

As of March 2022, the World Spider Catalog accepts the following genera:[7]

Transferred to other families:[8][9][10][11][12]

Extinct genera

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Eodiplurina Petrunkevitch 1922 Florissant Formation, United States, Eocene

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Raven, R.J. (1987). "A new mygalomorph spider genus from Mexico (Nemesiinae, Nemesiidae, Arachnida)" (PDF). J. Arachnol. 14: 357–362.
  2. ^ Simon, E. (1889). Arachnides.
  3. ^ Raven, R.J. (1985). "The spider Infraorder Mygalomorphae (Araneae): cladistics and systematics". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 182.
  4. ^ "Common Names of Arachnids" (PDF). American Arachnological Society. 2003. p. 38. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Find-a-Spider Guide". University of Queensland. 2006-07-07. Archived from the original on 2006-07-07. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  6. ^ Murphy, Frances; Murphy, John (2000). An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Malaysian Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur.
  7. ^ "Family: Nemesiidae Simon, 1889". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  8. ^ "Family: Pycnothelidae Chamberlin, 1917". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  9. ^ "Family: Anamidae Simon, 1889". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  10. ^ "Family: Entypesidae Bond, Opatova & Hedin, 2020". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  11. ^ "Family: Microstigmatidae Roewer, 1942". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  12. ^ "Family: Bemmeridae Simon, 1903". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
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Further reading

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  • Pesarini, C. (1988): Revision of the genus Pycnothele (Araneae, Nemesiidae). J. Arachnol. 16: 281-293. PDF
  • Rafael P. Indicatti & Sylvia M. Lucas (2005): Description of a new genus of Nemesiidae (Araneae, Mygalomorphae) from the Brazilian Cerrado. Zootaxa 1088: 11-16. PDF (Longistylus)
  • Indicatti, Rafael P.; Lucas, Sylvia M.; Ott, Ricardo & Brescovit, Antonio D. (2008): Litter dwelling mygalomorph spiders (Araneae: Microstigmatidae, Nemesiidae) from Araucaria forests in southern Brazil, with the description of five new species. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 25(3): 529-546.