Idiopidae | |
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male Idiops constructor | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Arachnida |
Order: | Araneae |
Suborder: | Mygalomorphae |
Infraorder: | Fornicephalae |
Superfamily: | Idiopoidea |
Family: |
Idiopidae Simon, 1892 |
Genera | |
see text |
|
Diversity | |
22 genera, 275 species | |
see text
Idiopidae (superfamily Idiopoidea) are a mygalomorph spider family, also known as the armored trapdoor spiders. They have a large body that often looks rather like a tarantula.
In some species the males have a spur on their legs, which they will show if provoked.
Idiopidae build burrows, and some species close these with a door.
The about 2 cm long Prothemenops siamensis from Thailand builds its retreat in a streamside vertical earth bank in lower montane rain forest. Each burrow had two or three entrances that lead into a main tube. Its lateral posterior spinnerets are elongated.
The categorization into subfamilies follows Raven (1985)