Liphistius

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Genus of trapdoor spider

title: "Liphistius" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["liphistiidae", "mesothelae-genera", "taxa-named-by-jørgen-matthias-christian-schiødte"] description: "Genus of trapdoor spider" topic_path: "society/religion" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liphistius" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of trapdoor spider ::

| image = Liphistius malayanus 103394983.jpg | image_caption = Image of the Malayan black trapdoor spider (Liphistius malayanus) from Malaysia | image2 = Liphistius Batuensis at its door.jpg | image2_caption = Liphistius batuensis at the trap door | parent_authority = Thorell, 1869 | taxon = Liphistius | authority = Schiødte, 1849 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = 69.

Liphistius is a genus of basal trapdoor spiders. It is the only genus in the subfamily Liphistiinae, one of the two subfamilies in the family Liphistiidae, which is the only family in the suborder Mesothelae. Species of Liphistius are found in Japan, China, and Southeast Asia.

Taxonomy

The genus Liphistius was erected by Jørgen M. C. Schiødte in 1849. this was corrected to Liphistius by Tamerlan Thorell in 1869, a change endorsed by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature in 1970. Liphistius is from Greek λείπω, grc ('lack') and ἱστός, grc ('web' in this context).

Thorell erected the family Liphistiidae in 1869 for the genus Liphistius. Initially, it was the only family placed in the suborder Mesothelae. In 1923, Kyukichi Kishida described a new genus, Heptathela, and suggested creating two tribes within the Liphistiidae corresponding to the genera Liphistius and Heptathela. and Sivayyapram et al. in 2024. Other authors have maintained two separate families, a position not accepted by the World Spider Catalog .

Phylogeny

Molecular phylogenetic studies have repeatedly shown that the suborder Mesothelae is monophyletic, at least as regards extant (living) species, with the two subfamilies or families forming separate clades: |label1=Mesothelae |1={{clade |label1=Liphistiinae or Liphistiidae |1={{clade |1=Liphistius |label2=Heptathelinae or Heptathelidae |2=7 genera

Biology

Liphistius species share features with the subfamily Heptathelinae. They are medium to large spiders. They have downward pointing, daggerlike chelicerae. Like other members of the suborder Mesothelae, and unlike all other extant spiders, they have a segmented series of plates (tergites) on the upper surface of all segments of the abdomen and their spinnerets are placed in the middle of the underside of the abdomen, rather than at the end. Their sternum (a plate on the underside of the cephalothorax) is narrow, and there is another smaller ventral plate (the sternite) between the fourth pair of legs. The carapace is mostly flat, though it can be slightly elevated near the head. The eyes are distinctly clustered together on a single nodule. The anterior median eyes are small, but the posterior median eyes are large and round. The lateral eyes are long and kidney-shaped. The distal leg segments have strong spines and three claws. The respiratory system consists only of book lungs, which could help explain why they are relatively inactive. Unlike heptathelines, the male palp has a tibial apophysis.

Female body lengths range from 9 to; males are slightly smaller. They live in burrows in earthen banks, on some cave walls, and probably in forests. The burrow is sealed with a thin, circular, woven door, which is disguised with soil and moss. While they spend the day deep inside their burrows, at night they wait just below the door for insects, woodlice, and similar invertebrates that stumble over one of the seven silken lines that radiate from the entrance.

In the past, they were frequently believed to lack venom, but in 2010 it was shown that at least some Liphistius species have venom glands.

Species

, the World Spider Catalog accepted 81 species:

Threatened Malaysian species

Three of the Liphistius species known to exist in Malaysia are endemic to only one or two caves. The most well known is Liphistius batuensis, which is found in Batu Caves. It is endangered, with a population of under 250 individuals. Other species found in Malaysia include Liphistius malayanus, Liphistius murphyorum and Liphistius desultor. The Malaysian trapdoor spiders are protected by local law, though continuous threats come from loss of habitat and collection by exotic pet traders.

References

References

  1. (1849). "Om en afvigende Slægt af Spindlernes Orden". Naturhistorisk Tidsskrift (2).
  2. "Gen. ''Liphistius'' Schiödte, 1849". Natural History Museum Bern.
  3. (1837). "Naturhistorisk tidsskrift".
  4. (2022). "On the taxonomic rank of the major subdivisions of the extant segmented spiders (Arachnida: Araneae: Mesothelae: Liphistiidae s. lat.)". Miscellanea Araneologica.
  5. (2024). "Molecular phylogeny, biogeography, and species delimitation of segmented spider genus ''Liphistius'' (Araneae: Liphistiidae) in Thailand". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
  6. Members of the subfamily Heptathelinae do not construct such signal lines. With a reluctance to leave their burrows, ''Liphistius'' species push up the door and reach for their prey. Adult males sometimes wander in search for females, but females rarely leave their burrows.Murphy, Frances & Murphy, John (2000): An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. ''Malaysian Nature Society'', Kuala Lumpur.
  7. "Gen. ''Liphistius'' Schiödte, 1849". Natural History Museum Bern.
  8. Price, Liz. (2014). "Cave fauna 5 - ''Liphistius''".
  9. (2009-01-01). "Conservation status of the batu caves trapdoor spider (Liphistius batuensis Abraham (Araneae, Mesothelae)): A preliminary survey". Malayan Nature Journal.
  10. (2022). "On the taxonomic rank of the major subdivisions of the extant segmented spiders (Arachnida: Araneae: Mesothelae: Liphistiidae s. lat.)". Miscellanea Araneologica.
  11. (1991). "Systematics and Evolution of Spiders (Araneae)". Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst..
  12. (2010). "Short communication: Mesothelae have venom glands". The Journal of Arachnology.
  13. Haupt, J.. (2004). "The Mesothelae - a monograph of an exceptional group of spiders (Araneae: Mesothelae)". Zoologica.
  14. (2023). "Advances in the reconstruction of the spider tree of life: a roadmap for spider systematics and comparative studies". Cladistics.
  15. (1923). "''Heptathela'', a new genus of liphistiid spiders". Annotationes Zoologicae Japonenses.
  16. (2022). "On the taxonomy of spiders of the suborder Mesothelae". Acta Arachnologica Sinica.
  17. (2000). "An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia". Malaysian Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur.
  18. (1985). "The spider infraorder Mygalomorphae (Araneae): cladistics and systematics". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.
  19. (1999). "The Spiders of China". Hebei University of Science and Technology Publishing House, Shijazhuang.
  20. "Family: Liphistiidae Thorell, 1869". World Spider Catalog.
  21. (2015-03-21). "A genus-level taxonomic review of primitively segmented spiders (Mesothelae, Liphistiidae)". ZooKeys.
  22. (2021). "Phylogenomic Analysis of Ultraconserved Elements Resolves the Evolutionary and Biogeographic History of Segmented Trapdoor Spiders". Systematic Biology.

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