Hexathelidae

Taxobox
name = Venomous funnel-web spiders

---

image_caption = Female Sydney funnel-web spider
image_width = 250px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Arachnida
ordo = Araneae
subordo = Mygalomorphae
infraordo = Tuberculotae
superfamilia = Hexatheloidea
familia = Hexathelidae
familia_authority = Simon, 1892
diversity_link = List of Hexathelidae species
diversity = 11 genera, 85 species
range_

range_map_width = 250px
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = "Atrax"
"Bymainiella"
"Hadronyche"
"Hexathele"
"Macrothele"
"Mediothele"
"Paraembolides"
"Plesiothele"
"Porrhothele"
"Scotinoecus"
"Teranodes"

The spider family Hexathelidae, the only family in the super-family Hexatheloidea, is one of two families (along with "Dipluridae") of spiders known as funnel-web tarantulas. This order is sometimes referred to as the venomous funnel-web tarantulas, due to the inclusion of the Australasian funnel-web spiders, including the notorious "Atrax robustus", or Sydney funnel-web spider, but most specimens in Hexathelidae are not dangerous to humans.

Description

These spiders are medium-to-large in size, with body lengths ranging from 1 cm to 5 cm (0.4 to 2 inches). The body is typically three times longer than it is wide. They are darkly colored, ranging from black to brown, with a glossy carapace covering the front part of the body. Like the related diplurid spiders, the hexathelids have generally long spinnerets; this is especially true of "A. robustus". The eyes of these spiders are close together.

Their long posterior spinnerets and other features make the Hexathelidae appear similar to the Dipluridae, and were considered a subfamily of the latter until 1980 [Platnick 2008] .

Like other Mygalomorphae (also called the "Orthognatha", an infraorder of spiders which includes the true tarantulas), these spiders have fangs which point straight down and do not cross each other (see also araneomorph). They have ample poison glands that lie entirely within their chelicerae. Their chelicerae and fangs are large and powerful. Although they are rather small compared to the true tarantulas, as venomous specimens they should not be handled without taking substantial precautions because their fangs have been known to penetrate fingernails and soft shoes, resulting in dangerous bitesFact|date=March 2008.

Range and habitat

Most hexathelids are found in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. One species is known for the Mediterranean region and two from South America. Two species occur in Central Africa.

Hexathelids typically live in burrows, which are constructed in the ground or in tree hollows. An elaborately constructed burrow entrance is common. These spiders construct a funnel shaped web and lurk for prey in the small end of the funnel. They frequently search for a place to nest under human dwellings, or under nearby rocks, logs, or other similar objects. They are most active at night.

Most species live in rain forests, but they also occur in other habitats, from sea level to high up in the mountains [Murphy & Murphy 2000: 68] .

Medical significance

There are three genera known to contain medically significant spiders —"Atrax" and "Hadronyche" of Australia and the south Pacific, and "Macrothele", which contains some specimens considered dangerous in Taiwan and parts of eastern Asia.

Genera

The categorization into subfamilies follows Joel Hallan. [http://insects.tamu.edu/research/collection/hallan/Acari/Family/Hexathelidae.txt]

* Hexathelinae Simon, 1892:* "Atrax" O. P-Cambridge, 1877 — Australia:* "Bymainiella" Raven, 1978 — Australia:* "Hadronyche" L. Koch, 1873 — Australia, New Guinea:* "Hexathele" Ausserer, 1871 — New Zealand:* "Mediothele" Raven & Platnick, 1978 — Chile:* "Paraembolides" Raven, 1980 — Australia:* "Rosamygale" Selden & Gall, 1992 — dagger; (fossil, Triassic::* "Rosamygale grauvogeli" (Selden & Gall, 1992) †:* "Scotinoecus" Simon, 1892 — Chile, Argentina:* "Teranodes" Raven, 1985 — Australia

* Macrothelinae Simon, 1892:* "Macrothele" Ausserer, 1871 — Africa, Europe, Asia

* Plesiothelinae Raven, 1980:* "Plesiothele" Raven, 1978 — Tasmania:* "Porrhothele" Simon, 1892 — New Zealand

ee also

* Australasian funnel-web spider
* Spider families

Footnotes

References

* [http://www.usq.edu.au/spider/info/families.htm Find-a-spider guide]
* (1978): A new genus of the spider family Dipluridae from Chile (Araneae, Mygalomorphae). "J. Arachnol." 6: 73-77. [http://www.americanarachnology.org/JoA_free/JoA_v6_n1/JoA_v6_p73.pdf PDF] ("Mediothele", now in Hexathelidae)
* (2000): An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. "Malaysian Nature Society", Kuala Lumpur.
* (2008): [http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/index.html The world spider catalog] , version 8.5. "American Museum of Natural History".

External links

* [http://www.arachnology.org/Arachnology/Pages/Atrax.html Arachnology Home Pages: Atrax]