Euctenizidae

Euctenizidae
Aptostichus sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Clade: Avicularioidea
Family: Euctenizidae
Raven, 1985
Diversity
8 genera, 79 species

The Euctenizidae are a family of mygalomorph spiders. Originally created as a subfamily of Cyrtaucheniidae by Robert Raven in 1985,[1] it was established as a family by Bond et al. in 2012.[2]

They are now considered to be more closely related to Idiopidae.[2]

Biology

Many, but not all, make wafer-like doors to their burrows, while others build the cork-like doors found commonly in the true trapdoor spiders. The biology of nearly all of the species is poorly known.

Distribution

The family occurs almost exclusively in the United States and Mexico. Common U.S. genera include Myrmekiaphila, Aptostichus and Promyrmekiaphila.

Genera

As of October 2025, this family includes eight genera and 79 species:[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Raven, R. J. (1985). "The spider infraorder Mygalomorphae (Araneae): cladistics and systematics". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 182: 1–180.
  2. ^ a b Bond, J. E.; Hendrixson, B. E.; Hamilton, C. A.; Hedin, M. (2012). "A reconsideration of the classification of the spider infraorder Mygalomorphae (Arachnida: Araneae) based on three nuclear genes and morphology". PLOS ONE. 7 (6): 1–11. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...738753B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038753. PMC 3378619. PMID 22723885.
  3. ^ "Family: Euctenizidae Raven, 1985". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  • Murphy, Frances & Murphy, John (2000): An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Malaysian Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur.
  • Bond, J. E. Phylogenetic treatment and taxonomic revision of the trapdoor spider genus Aptostichus Simon (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Euctenizidae). ZooKeys 252: 1–209.
  • Bond, J. E., C. A. Hamilton, N. L. Garrison & C. H. Ray. Phylogenetic reconsideration of Myrmekiaphila systematics with a description of the trapdoor spider species Myrmekiaphila tigris (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Cyrtaucheniidae, Euctenizinae) from Auburn, Alabama. ZooKeys 190: 94–109.