Idiops

Idiops is a genus of armored trapdoor spiders that was first described by Josef Anton Maximilian Perty in 1833. It is the type genus of the spurred trapdoor spiders, Idiopidae. Idiops is also the most species-rich genus of the family, and is found at widely separated locations in the Neotropics, Afrotropics, Indomalaya and the Middle East.

Distribution Species of this genus are found in South America, Africa, South Asia and the Middle East.

Description Females live in tubular burrows lined with a thick layer of white silk. These typically have a D-shaped lid that fits into the entrance like a cork, and some burrows have two entrances. The lid may consist of mud, moss or lichen, which is bound below by a thick layer of silk. As in all genera of this family, the anterior lateral eyes (ALE) are situated near the clypeal margin, far in front of the remaining six eyes, which are arranged in a tight group. The males which are smaller in size, wander about or occasionally live in burrows.

Body size ranges from 10 to 35 mm. The carapace is narrower posteriorly. The posterior eye row is procurved, and the median ocular area is widest posteriorly. The cheliceral fang furrows have equal rows of teeth along inner and outer margins. The sternum has only two pairs of sigilla marginally. The legs have coxae without spinules. The chelicerae are narrow, especially in males.

Life style

The burrows of Idiops are usually made in soil free of stones, which is soft during the rainy season but becomes very hard afterwards. The burrows are frequently made in open grassy plains with a gentle slope with low scrubs. The entrances are usually closed with a trapdoor that varies from cork-like to flat. The trapdoor has an outer surface that is well-camouflaged. It could be sand grains firmly stuck together so that it resembles the surface of the surrounding soil, grass tufts, or even dry black lichen.

Members of Idiops have been collected on various occasions in areas with high populations of the termite Hodotermes mossambicus. The males are frequently collected from pit traps.

Like other mygalomorphs, they are relatively large and long-lived. Forest clearance and agricultural practices that loosen the soil and enhance erosion, besides soil removal for brick making have been pointed out as serious threats to some Indian species. Species ranges are poorly known – in India for instance, most species are known only from their type localities.

Species

, this genus includes 86 species and one subspecies:

Idiops angusticeps (Pocock, 1900) – Equatorial Guinea Idiops argus Simon, 1889 – Venezuela Idiops arnoldi Hewitt, 1914 – Zimbabwe Idiops aussereri Simon, 1877 – Angola Idiops bonapartei van Hasselt, 1888 – Suriname Idiops cambridgei Ausserer, 1875 – Colombia Idiops camelus (Mello-Leitão, 1937) – Brazil Idiops carajas Fonseca-Ferreira, Zampaulo & Guadanucci, 2017 – Brazil Idiops castaneus Hewitt, 1913 – South Africa Idiops clarus (Mello-Leitão, 1946) – Uruguay, Argentina Idiops clepsydra Dupérré & Tapia, 2025 – Ecuador Idiops crudeni (Hewitt, 1914) – South Africa Idiops curvicalcar Roewer, 1953 – DR Congo Idiops curvipes (Thorell, 1899) – Cameroon Idiops damarensis Hewitt, 1934 – Namibia Idiops designatus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885 – Pakistan Idiops dilatatus Gomes, dos Santos, Almeida, Cipola & de Morais, 2024 – Brazil Idiops duocordibus Fonseca-Ferreira, Guadanucci & Brescovit, 2021 – Brazil Idiops fageli Roewer, 1953 – DR Congo Idiops flaveolus (Pocock, 1901) – South Africa Idiops fossor (Pocock, 1900) – India Idiops fryi (Purcell, 1903) – South Africa Idiops fulvipes Simon, 1889 – Venezuela Idiops fuscus Perty, 1833 – Brazil (type species) Idiops gerhardti Hewitt, 1913 – South Africa Idiops germaini Simon, 1892 – Brazil Idiops gracilipes (Hewitt, 1919) – South Africa Idiops grandis (Hewitt, 1915) – South Africa Idiops gunningi Hewitt, 1913 – South Africa I. g. elongatus Hewitt, 1915 – South Africa Idiops guri Fonseca-Ferreira, Guadanucci & Brescovit, 2021 – Brazil Idiops hamiltoni (Pocock, 1902) – South Africa Idiops harti (Pocock, 1893) – Trinidad and Tobago Idiops hepburni (Hewitt, 1919) – South Africa, Lesotho Idiops hirsutipedis Mello-Leitão, 1941 – Argentina Idiops hirsutus (Hewitt, 1919) – South Africa Idiops kaasensis Mirza, Vaze & Sanap, 2012 – India Idiops kanonganus Roewer, 1953 – DR Congo Idiops kaperonis Roewer, 1953 – DR Congo Idiops kazibius Roewer, 1953 – DR Congo Idiops kentanicus (Purcell, 1903) – South Africa Idiops lusingius Roewer, 1953 – DR Congo Idiops madrasensis (Tikader, 1977) – India Idiops mafae Lawrence, 1927 – Namibia Idiops meadei O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1870 – Uganda Idiops mettupalayam Ganeshkumar & Siliwal, 2013 – India Idiops microps (Hewitt, 1913) – South Africa Idiops minguito Ferretti, 2017 – Argentina Idiops mocambo Fonseca-Ferreira, Guadanucci & Brescovit, 2021 – Brazil Idiops monticola (Hewitt, 1916) – South Africa Idiops monticoloides (Hewitt, 1919) – South Africa Idiops mossambicus (Hewitt, 1919) – Mozambique, South Africa Idiops munois Roewer, 1953 – DR Congo Idiops nigropilosus (Hewitt, 1919) – South Africa Idiops nilopolensis Mello-Leitão, 1923 – Brazil Idiops ochreolus (Pocock, 1902) – South Africa Idiops opifex (Simon, 1889) – French Guiana Idiops palapyi Tucker, 1917 – Botswana Idiops pallidipes Purcell, 1908 – Namibia Idiops parvus Hewitt, 1915 – South Africa Idiops petiti (Guérin, 1838) – Brazil Idiops piluso Ferretti, Nime & Mattoni, 2017 – Argentina Idiops pirassununguensis Fukami & Lucas, 2005 – Brazil Idiops prescotti Schenkel, 1937 – Tanzania Idiops pretoriae (Pocock, 1898) – South Africa Idiops pulcher Hewitt, 1914 – South Africa Idiops pulloides Hewitt, 1919 – South Africa Idiops pullus Tucker, 1917 – South Africa Idiops pungwensis Purcell, 1904 – South Africa Idiops rastratus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1889) – Brazil Idiops reshma Siliwal, Hippargi, Yadav & Kumar, 2020 – India Idiops rohdei Karsch, 1886 – Paraguay Idiops royi Roewer, 1961 – Senegal Idiops rubrolimbatus Mirza & Sanap, 2012 – India Idiops sally Siliwal, Hippargi, Yadav & Kumar, 2020 – India Idiops schenkeli Lessert, 1938 – DR Congo Idiops sertania Fonseca-Ferreira, Guadanucci & Brescovit, 2021 – Brazil Idiops siolii (Bücherl, 1953) – Brazil Idiops straeleni Roewer, 1953 – DR Congo Idiops striatipes Purcell, 1908 – Botswana Idiops sylvestris (Hewitt, 1925) – South Africa Idiops thorelli O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1870 – South Africa Idiops tolengo Ferretti, 2017 – Argentina Idiops upembensis Roewer, 1953 – DR Congo Idiops vandami (Hewitt, 1925) – South Africa Idiops versicolor (Purcell, 1903) – South Africa Idiops wittei Roewer, 1953 – DR Congo

References