Araneomorphae

In this article, we will explore the topic of Araneomorphae in depth, analyzing its many facets and its impact on different aspects of daily life. From its origins to its relevance today, we will immerse ourselves in a journey through the history, advances, challenges and opportunities that Araneomorphae presents in society. Through different perspectives, we will address its influence on culture, the economy, technology and interpersonal relationships, with the aim of fully understanding its importance and the implications it entails. Likewise, we will examine the different points of view and opinions of experts in the field, in order to offer a broad and complete vision about Araneomorphae. Join us on this exciting journey to discover everything Araneomorphae has to offer!

Araneomorph spiders
Temporal range:
Nephila inaurata (Nephilidae)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Suborder: Opisthothelae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Subdivisions
Diversity
95 families

The Araneomorphae (also called the Labidognatha or "true spiders"[1]) are an infraorder of spiders. They are distinguishable by chelicerae (fangs) that point diagonally forward and cross in a pinching action, in contrast to the Mygalomorphae (tarantulas and their close kin), where they point straight down. Araneomorphs comprise the vast majority (about 93%[2]) of living spiders.

Distinguishing characteristics

Most spider species are Araneomorphae, which have fangs that face towards each other, increasing the orientations that they can employ during prey-capture. They have fewer book lungs (when present) - usually one pair - and the females typically live one year.

The Mygalomorphae have fangs that face towards the ground, and which are parallel to the long axis of the spider's body, thus they have only one orientation they can employ during prey capture. They have two pairs of book lungs, and the females often live many years.[3]

Spiders included

Almost all of the familiar spiders are included in the Araneomorphae group, one major exception being the tarantulas. There are a few other Mygalomorphae species that live around homes or gardens, but they typically are relatively small and not easily noticed.

The Araneomorphae, to the contrary, include the weavers of spiral webs; the cobweb spiders that live in the corners of rooms, and between windows and screens; the crab spiders that lurk on the surfaces of flowers in gardens; the jumping spiders that are visible hunting on surfaces; the wolf spiders that carpet hunting sites in sunny spots; and the large huntsman spiders.

Systematics

In older schemes, the Araneomorphae were divided into two lineages, the Hypochilae (containing only the family Hypochilidae), and the Neocribellatae. The Neocribellatae were in turn divided into the Austrochiloidea, and the two series Haplogynae and Entelogynae, each containing several superfamilies. Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that the haplogynes in particular are not a monophyletic group. A 2020 study suggested the relationships among the major groups were as shown in the following cladogram.[4]

Araneomorphae
Haplogynae

The blue bar to the right shows the former Haplogynae in the sense of Coddington (2005).[5]

Table of families

Key
Genera 1 ≥2 ≥10 ≥100
Species 1–9 ≥10 ≥100 ≥1000
Araneomorphae families[notes 1]
Family Genera Species Common name Example
Agelenidae 90 1366 araneomorph funnel-web spiders Hobo spider
Amaurobiidae 50 283 tangled nest spiders Callobius claustrarius
Anapidae 58 232
Anyphaenidae 58 614 anyphaenid sac spiders Yellow ghost spider
Araneidae 184 3097 orb-weaver spiders Zygiella x-notata
Archaeidae 6 90 pelican spiders Madagascarchaea gracilicollis
Archoleptonetidae 2 8 Archoleptoneta gertschi
Arkyidae 2 38
Austrochilidae 2 9 Tasmanian cave spider
Caponiidae 20 139 Diploglena capensis
Cheiracanthiidae
(syn. Eutichuridae)
14 363 Cheiracanthium mildei
Cithaeronidae 2 9
Clubionidae 19 662 sac spiders Clubiona trivialis
Corinnidae 73 824 dark sac spiders Castianeira sp.
Ctenidae 48 532 tropical wolf spiders Brazilian wandering spiders
Cyatholipidae 23 58
Cybaeidae 21 303
Cycloctenidae 8 80
Deinopidae 3 67 net-casting spiders Rufous net-casting spider
Desidae 60 296 intertidal spiders Phryganoporus candidus
Dictynidae 53 475 Nigma walckenaeri
Diguetidae 2 15 coneweb spiders
Drymusidae 2 17 false violin spiders
Dysderidae 25 591 woodlouse hunter spiders Woodlouse spider
Eresidae 9 102 velvet spiders Eresus sandaliatus
Filistatidae 19 189 crevice weavers Southern house spider
Gallieniellidae 5 41
Gnaphosidae
(synonym: Ammoxenidae)[notes 2]
145 2430 flat-bellied ground spiders Drassodes cupreus
Gradungulidae 8 17 large-clawed spiders Carrai cave spider
Hahniidae 24 353 dwarf sheet spiders
Hersiliidae 16 187 tree trunk spiders Hersilia savignyi
Homalonychidae 1 2
Huttoniidae 1 1 Huttonia palpimanoides
Hypochilidae 2 33 lampshade spiders Hypochilus thorelli
Lamponidae 23 192 White-tailed spider
Leptonetidae 22 370 Tooth cave spider
Linyphiidae 624 4724 dwarf / money spiders Linyphia triangularis
Liocranidae 35 311 liocranid sac spiders
Lycosidae 127 2452 wolf spiders Lycosa tarantula
Malkaridae 13 57 shield spiders
Mecysmaucheniidae 7 25
Megadictynidae 2 2
Mimetidae 8 159 pirate spiders Oarces reticulatus
Miturgidae 29 141 long-legged sac spiders
Myrmecicultoridae 1 1
Mysmenidae 14 158 spurred orb-weavers
Nesticidae 18 285 cave cobweb spiders Nesticella marapu
Nicodamidae 7 27
Ochyroceratidae 10 177 midget ground weavers Theotima minutissima
Oecobiidae 6 120 disc web spiders Oecobius navus
Oonopidae 115 1888 dwarf hunting spiders Oonops domesticus
Orsolobidae 30 188
Oxyopidae 9 443 lynx spiders Green lynx spider
Pacullidae 4 38
Palpimanidae 21 165 palp-footed spiders
Penestomidae 1 9
Periegopidae 1 3
Philodromidae 30 535 philodromid crab spiders Philodromus dispar
Pholcidae 97 1893 daddy long-legs spiders Pholcus phalangioides
Phrurolithidae 20 313
Physoglenidae 13 72
Phyxelididae 14 68
Pimoidae 2 85 Pimoa cthulhu
Pisauridae 51 353 nursery web spiders Pisaura mirabilis
Plectreuridae 2 31
Prodidomidae 23 192
Psechridae 2 61
Psilodercidae 11 224
Salticidae 665 6433 jumping spiders Zebra spider
Scytodidae 4 241 spitting spiders Scytodes thoracica
Segestriidae 5 152 tubeweb spiders Segestria florentina
Selenopidae 9 262 wall spiders Selenops radiatus
Senoculidae 1 31
Sicariidae 3 172 recluse spiders Brown recluse
Sparassidae 95 1337 huntsman spiders Avondale spider
Stenochilidae 2 13
Stiphidiidae 20 125 Tartarus mullamullangensis
Symphytognathidae 10 98 dwarf orb-weavers Patu digua
Synaphridae 3 13
Synotaxidae 1 11
Telemidae 16 104 long-legged cave spiders
Tetrablemmidae 27 151 armored spiders
Tetragnathidae 46 982 long jawed orb-weavers Orchard spider
Theridiidae 125 2538 cobweb spiders Redback spider
Theridiosomatidae 20 135 ray spiders Theridiosoma gemmosum
Thomisidae 171 2167 crab spiders Goldenrod spider
Titanoecidae 5 56 Goeldia obscura
Toxopidae 14 82
Trachelidae 20 263
Trachycosmidae 20 148
Trechaleidae 17 133
Trochanteriidae 6 51
Trogloraptoridae 1 1 Trogloraptor marchingtoni
Udubidae 4 15
Uloboridae 19 291 hackled orb-weavers Uloborus walckenaerius
Viridasiidae 3 14
Xenoctenidae 4 33
Zodariidae 89 1251 ant spiders Zodarion germanicum
Zoropsidae 27 182 Zoropsis spinimana

Extinct families

Notes

  1. ^ Unless otherwise shown, currently accepted families and counts based on the World Spider Catalog version 23.5 as of 8 August 2022.[6] In the World Spider Catalog, "species" counts include subspecies. Assignment to sub- and infraorders based on Coddington (2005, p. 20) (when given there).
  2. ^ June 2019 data

References

Citations

  1. ^ Coddington, J.A. (2005). "Phylogeny and Classification of Spiders" (PDF). In Ubick, D.; Paquin, P.; Cushing, P.E.; Roth, V. (eds.). Spiders of North America: an identification manual. American Arachnological Society. pp. 18–24. ISBN 978-0-9771439-0-0. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
  2. ^ Bern, Natural History Museum. "NMBE - World Spider Catalog". research.amnh.org. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  3. ^ "ABOUT SPIDERS". www.publish.csiro.au. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  4. ^ Magalhaes, Ivan L. F.; Azevedo, Guilherme H. F.; Michalik, Peter; Ramírez, Martín J. (February 2020). "The fossil record of spiders revisited: implications for calibrating trees and evidence for a major faunal turnover since the Mesozoic". Biological Reviews. 95 (1): 184–217. doi:10.1111/brv.12559. ISSN 1464-7931. PMID 31713947. S2CID 207937170.
  5. ^ Coddington, Jonathan A. (2005). "Phylogeny and classification of spiders" (PDF). In Ubick, D.; Paquin, P.; Cushing, P.E. & Roth, V. (eds.). Spiders of North America: an identification manual. American Arachnological Society. pp. 18–24. Retrieved 2015-09-24.
  6. ^ "Currently valid spider genera and species". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2022-08-08. Currently valid spider genera and species