Tartarus (genus)

Taxobox
name = "Tartarus"


image_caption =
image_width = 250px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Arachnida
ordo = Araneae
subordo = Araneidae
familia = Stiphidiidae
genus = "Tartarus"
genus_authority = Gray, 1973
diversity_link = List of Stiphidiidae species#Tartarus
diversity = 4 species
range_

range_map_width = 250px
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.

"Tartarus" is a genus of spiders. All four described species are found in caves systems of Western Australia. These are located in the karst area of the Nullarbor Plain. They are likely relict species from a time when the region was much more humid, given the fact that the related family of trapdoor spiders (Stiphidiidae) in Southern Australia live in forests.

Names

The genus name is derived from Tartarus, a place in the underworld of Greek mythology, even lower than Hades. All four species take their common names, and the specific epithet, from the caves in which they were first collected.

"Tartarus murdochensis" and "Tartarus thampannensis" are both commonly called "Murdoch sink cave spider", "Tartarus nurinensis" is also known as the "Nurina cave spider".

pecies

* "Tartarus mullamullangensis" Gray, 1973 (Western Australia)
* "Tartarus murdochensis" Gray, 1992 (Western Australia)
* "Tartarus nurinensis" Gray, 1992 (Western Australia)
* "Tartarus thampannensis" Gray, 1992 (Western Australia)

References

* cite book |last=Burbidge |first=Andrew A |authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title=Threatened animals of Western Australia |origdate= |origyear=2004 |origmonth= |url= |format= |accessdate= |accessyear= |accessmonth= |edition= |series= |date= |year= |month= |publisher=Department of Conservation and Land Management |location= |language= |isbn=0 7307 5549 5 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages= |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote=

External links

* [http://www.amonline.net.au/collections/arachnology/nullabor.htm Mike Gray: Cave Spiders of the Nullarbor]