Mesothelae
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 Liphistius sp.
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The Mesothelae are one suborder of spiders (Order Araneae) that includes the extinct families Arthrolycosidae and Arthromygalidae, and the only recent family Liphistiidae.
Recent Mesothelae are characterized by the narrow sternum on the ventral side of the prosoma. Several plesiomorphic characters may be useful in recognizing these spiders: there are tergite plates on the dorsal side and the almost-median position of the spinnerets on the ventral side of the opisthosoma. They lack a venom gland and duct, which almost all other spiders feature.[1] All Mesothelae have four pairs of spinnerets. Like mygalomorph spiders, they have two pairs of book lungs. [2]
The Heptathelidae were once considered their own family, today they are considered a subfamily of the Liphistiidae (as Heptathelinae). As opposed to all other recent mesothelids, these do not have fishing lines in front of their entrances. Therefore, they are more difficult to find. They also have a paired receptaculum (unpaired in other liphistiids), and have a conductor in their palpal organ.
Before mating, the male creates a sound (inaudible to humans) to induce the female to appear at her trap door. Then mating may take place.
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[edit] Distribution
Liphistiidae spiders are distributed in Myanmar, Thailand, the Malayan peninsula and in Sumatra. Heptathelidae are found in Vietnam, the Eastern provinces of China, and Southern Japan.
[edit] In Popular Culture
In the BBC documentary Walking with Monsters (2005), one Carboniferous era species of mesothelae was described as being as large as a human head and hunted reptiles the size of today's cats. It lived like the tarantulas in burrows, and would either lie in wait for its prey, or chase it through the jungle. In reality no spider that large has ever been found, but when the series began production, the eurypterid Megarachne was still mistakenly thought to have been a spider. Its correct identity wasn't discovered until Walking With Monsters was well into production, and the giant spider was left in and called "Mesothelae" instead of "Megarachne".
[edit] References
- ^ Haupt, J. (2004). The Mesothelae - a monograph of an exceptional group of spiders (Araneae: Mesothelae). Zoologica 154:8 ISSN 0044-5088, ISBN 3-510-55041-2 (Abstract)
- ^ Scharff, N. & Enghoff, H. (2005). Arachnida. Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen.
[edit] External links
