Barychelidae, also known as brushed trapdoor spiders, is a spider family with about 300 species in 39 genera.
Behaviour
Most spiders in this family build trapdoor burrows. For example, the long Sipalolasma builds its burrow in rotted wood, with a hinged trapdoor at each end. The long Idioctis builds its burrow approximately deep, just below the high tide level, sealing the opening with a thin trapdoor.
Some species avoid flooding by plugging their burrows, while others can avoid drowning by trapping air bubbles within the hairs covering their bodies. Some members of this group have a rake on the front surface of their chelicerae used for compacting burrow walls. These spiders can run up glass like tarantulas, and some can stridulate, though it isn't audible to humans.
Distribution
Barychelids are found in Australia, New Caledonia, South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, New Guinea, and Pacific islands.
Genera
, this family includes 39 genera and 294 species:
Adelonychia Walsh, 1890 – India, Sri Lanka Ammonius Thorell, 1899 – Cameroon, Ivory Coast Atrophothele Pocock, 1903 – Yemen Aurecocrypta Raven, 1994 – Australia Barycheloides Raven, 1994 – New Caledonia Barychelus Simon, 1889 – New Caledonia Cosmopelma Simon, 1889 – Brazil Cyphonisia Simon, 1889 – Africa Encyocrypta Simon, 1889 – New Caledonia Eubrachycercus Pocock, 1897 – Somalia Fijocrypta Raven, 1994 – Fiji Idioctis L. Koch, 1874 – Madagascar, Mayotte, Seychelles, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Caroline Islands Idiommata Ausserer, 1871 – Australia Idiophthalma O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1877 – South America Mandjelia Raven, 1994 – Australia, New Caledonia Monodontium Kulczyński, 1908 – Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, New Guinea, Papua New Guinea Moruga Raven, 1994 – Australia Natgeogia Raven, 1994 – New Caledonia Neodiplothele Mello-Leitão, 1917 – Brazil Nihoa Raven & Churchill, 1992 – Hawaii, Melanesia, Palau Islands Orstom Raven, 1994 – New Caledonia Ozicrypta Raven, 1994 – Australia Paracenobiopelma Feio, 1952 – Brazil, Ecuador Pisenor Simon, 1889 – Africa Plagiobothrus Karsch, 1892 – Sri Lanka Questocrypta Raven, 1994 – New Caledonia Rhianodes Raven, 1985 – Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore Sason Simon, 1887 – Seychelles, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands Sasonichus Pocock, 1900 – India Seqocrypta Raven, 1994 – Australia Sipalolasma Simon, 1892 – Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Sri Lanka Strophaeus Ausserer, 1875 – Panama, South America Synothele Simon, 1908 – Australia Tigidia Simon, 1892 – Madagascar, Mauritius, India Trittame L. Koch, 1874 – Australia Troglothele Fage, 1929 – Cuba Tungari Raven, 1994 – Australia Zophorame Raven, 1990 – Australia Zophoryctes Simon, 1902 – Madagascar
References
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)
External links
Brush-footed trap-door spiders