Porrhothele

Porrhothele is a genus of mygalomorph spiders endemic to New Zealand. They are the only members of the family Porrhothelidae. They were first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1892.[2] Originally placed with the curtain web spiders,[2] it was moved to the Hexathelidae in 1980,[3] they were placed in their own family in 2018.[4]

Porrhothele
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Family: Porrhothelidae
Hedin & Bond, 2018
Genus: Porrhothele
Simon, 1892[1]
Type species
P. antipodiana
(Walckenaer, 1837)
Species

5, see text

Members of Porrhothelidae are distinguished from other mygalomorph spiders by the small posterior sigillae and a single row of teeth on the forward-facing margin of the chelicerae. Males have many strong spines on the forward-facing margin of their tibiae.[4]

Taxonomy

The genus Porrhothele was erected by Eugène Simon in 1892 for the species Porrhothele antipodiana. Simon transferred these from Mygale, a genus previously used for many mygalomorph spiders, but is no longer in use. He placed this genus in the subfamily Diplurinae,[2] which later became the family Dipluridae. Raven transferred the genus to Hexathelidae,[3] where it remained until the results of a 2018 molecular phylogenetic study suggested that it belongs in its own family.[4]

The following cladogram shows the possible relationship of Porrhothele to related taxa.

 
 

Dipluridae

 
 
 

Hexathelidae

 
 
 

Porrhothele (Porrhothelidae)

 
 
 

Macrothelidae

 
 
 
 

Calisoga (Nemesiidae)

 
 

Hebestatis (Halonoproctidae)

 
 
 
 

Atracidae

 
 

Actinopodidae

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Species

As of May 2019 it contains five species, all found in New Zealand:[1]

  • Porrhothele antipodiana (Walckenaer, 1837) (type) – New Zealand
  • Porrhothele blanda Forster, 1968 – New Zealand
  • Porrhothele moana Forster, 1968 – New Zealand
  • Porrhothele modesta Forster, 1968 – New Zealand
  • Porrhothele quadrigyna Forster, 1968 – New Zealand

References
  1. "Gen. Porrhothele Simon, 1892". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. 2019. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  2. Simon, E (1892). Histoire naturelle des araignées. Paris: Roret. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51973.
  3. Raven, R. J. (1980). "The evolution and biogeography of the mygalomorph spider family Hexathelidae (Araneae, Chelicerata)". Journal of Arachnology. 8: 251–266.
  4. Hedin, M.; et al. (2018). "Phylogenomic reclassification of the world's most venomous spiders (Mygalomorphae, Atracinae), with implications for venom evolution". Scientific Reports. 8 (1636). doi:10.1038/s41598-018-19946-2. PMC 5785998. PMID 29374214.
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