Barychelidae, also known as brushed trapdoor spiders, is a spider family with about 300 species in 42 genera.[1]
Behaviour
Most spiders in this family build trapdoor burrows. For example, the 20 millimetres (0.79 in) long Sipalolasma builds its burrow in rotted wood, with a hinged trapdoor at each end. The 10 millimetres (0.39 in) long Idioctis builds its burrow approximately 5 centimetres (2.0 in) deep, just below the high tide level, sealing the opening with a thin trapdoor.[2]
Some species avoid flooding by plugging their burrows, while others can avoid drowning by trapping air bubbles within the hairs covering their bodies.[3] Some members of this group have a rake on the front surface of their chelicerae used for compacting burrow walls.[4] These spiders can run up glass like tarantulas, and some can stridulate, though it isn't audible to humans.[5]
Distribution
Barychelids are found in Australia, New Caledonia, South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, New Guinea, and Pacific islands.[1]
Genera
As of April 2019, the World Spider Catalog accepts the following genera:[1]
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Ammonius Thorell, 1899 — Cameroon
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Atrophothele Pocock, 1903 — Yemen
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Aurecocrypta Raven, 1994 — Australia
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Barycheloides Raven, 1994 — New Caledonia
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Barychelus Simon, 1889 — New Caledonia
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Cosmopelma Simon, 1889 — Brazil
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Cyphonisia Simon, 1889 — Africa
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Cyrtogrammomma Pocock, 1895 — Guyana
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Diplothele O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1891 — Sri Lanka, India
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Encyocrypta Simon, 1889 — New Caledonia
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Eubrachycercus Pocock, 1897 — Somalia
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Fijocrypta Raven, 1994 — Fiji
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Idioctis L. Koch, 1874 — Oceania, Africa, Singapore
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Idiommata Ausserer, 1871 — Australia
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Idiophthalma O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1877 — South America
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Mandjelia Raven, 1994 — Australia
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Monodontium Kulczyński, 1908 — Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia
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Moruga Raven, 1994 — Australia
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Natgeogia Raven, 1994 — New Caledonia
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Neodiplothele Mello-Leitão, 1917 — Brazil
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Nihoa Raven & Churchill, 1992 — Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu
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Orstom Raven, 1994 — New Caledonia
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Ozicrypta Raven, 1994 — Australia
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Paracenobiopelma Feio, 1952 — Brazil
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Pisenor Simon, 1889 — Africa
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Plagiobothrus Karsch, 1892 — Sri Lanka
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Psalistops Simon, 1889 — Venezuela, Brazil, Costa Rica
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Questocrypta Raven, 1994 — New Caledonia
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Rhianodes Raven, 1985 — Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines
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Sason Simon, 1887 — Asia, Oceania, Seychelles
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Sasonichus Pocock, 1900 — India
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Seqocrypta Raven, 1994 — Australia
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Sipalolasma Simon, 1892 — Asia, Africa
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Strophaeus Ausserer, 1875 — Brazil, Peru, Panama
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Synothele Simon, 1908 — Australia
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Thalerommata Ausserer, 1875 — Colombia, Mexico
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Tigidia Simon, 1892 — Madagascar, Mauritius
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Trittame L. Koch, 1874 — Australia
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Troglothele Fage, 1929 — Cuba
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Tungari Raven, 1994 — Australia
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Zophorame Raven, 1990 — Australia
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Zophoryctes Simon, 1902 — Madagascar
References
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^ a b c "Family: Barychelidae Simon, 1889". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
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^ Murphy, Frances; Murphy, John (2000). An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Nature Society.
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^ Bristowe, W.S. (September 1930). "XXXIV.— Notes on the biology of spiders .—II. Aquatic spiders". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 6 (33): 343–347. doi:10.1080/00222933008673222. ISSN 0374-5481.
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^ Levi, Herbert W.; Levi, Lorna R. Spiders and Their Kin. p. 20.
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^ Raven, R.J. (1994). "Mygalomorph spiders of the Barychelidae in Australia and the Western Pacific". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 35 (2): 291–706.
- Raven, R.J. (1986): A revision of the spider genus Sason Simon (Sasoninae, Barychelidae, Mygalomorphae) and its historical biogeography. Journal of Arachnology 14: 47-70. PDF
- Valerio, CE. (1986): Mygalomorph spiders in the Barychelidae (Araneae) from Costa Rica. J. Arachnol. 14: 93-99. PDF (Psalistops venadensis, Trichopelma laselva)
- Schwendinger, P.J. (2003): Two new species of the arboreal trapdoor spider genus Sason (Araneae, Barychelidae) from Southeast Asia. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 51(2): 197-207. PDF (S. sundaicum, S. andamanicum)