Deinopis
Deinopis, also known as net-casting spiders, gladiator spiders and ogre-faced spiders,[2] is a genus of net-casting spiders that was first described by W. S. MacLeay in 1839.[3] Its distribution is widely tropical and subtropical. They catch their prey using a specially spun "net". The name is derived from the Greek δεινός (deinos), meaning "fearful", and opis, meaning "appearance", referring to their ogre-like faces. The spelling "Dinopis" is also found, but is regarded as an "unjustified emendation".[4]
| Deinopis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Deinopis subrufa | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Deinopidae |
| Genus: | Deinopis MacLeay, 1839[1] |
| Type species | |
| D. lamia MacLeay, 1839 | |
| Species | |
|
51, see text | |
Net-casting
Spiders in the genus Deinopis catch their prey in an unusual fashion. They first spin a small upright rectangular cribellate web. This is then detached from its supporting threads and held horizontally above the ground by the spider's long front two pairs of legs while the spider hangs almost vertically. Passing prey is then captured by dropping the "net" over it.[2]
Eyes
The two posterior median eyes are enlarged and forward-facing. These eyes have a wide field of view and are able to gather available light more efficiently than the eyes of cats and owls. This is despite the fact that they lack a reflective layer (tapetum lucidum); instead, each night, a large area of light-sensitive membrane is manufactured within the eyes, and since arachnid eyes do not have irises, it is rapidly destroyed again at dawn. To aid further in netting prey, the spider places white fecal spots on the surface below the net and uses them for aiming.[5]
Species
As of May 2019 it contains fifty-one species:[1]
- D. amica Schiapelli & Gerschman, 1957 – Argentina, Uruguay
- D. anchietae Brito Capello, 1867 – West Africa, Angola
- D. armaticeps Mello-Leitão, 1925 – Brazil
- D. aruensis Roewer, 1938 – Indonesia (Aru Is.)
- D. aspectans Pocock, 1900 – Cameroon, Congo
- D. aurita F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902 – Mexico
- D. biaculeata Simon, 1906 – Brazil
- D. bituberculata Franganillo, 1930 – Cuba
- D. bucculenta Schenkel, 1953 – Venezuela
- D. camela Thorell, 1881 – New Guinea
- D. celebensis Merian, 1911 – Indonesia (Sulawesi)
- D. cornigera Gerstäcker, 1873 – East Africa
- D. cylindracea C. L. Koch, 1846 – Colombia
- D. cylindrica Pocock, 1898 – South Africa
- D. diabolica Kraus, 1956 – El Salvador
- D. fasciata L. Koch, 1879 – Australia (Queensland)
- D. fasciculigera Simon, 1909 – Vietnam
- D. fastigata Simon, 1906 – Brazil
- D. giltayi Lessert, 1930 – Congo
- D. goalparaensis Tikader & Malhotra, 1978 – India
- D. granadensis Keyserling, 1879 – Colombia
- D. guasca Mello-Leitão, 1943 – Brazil
- D. gubatmakiling Barrion-Dupo & Barrion, 2018 – Philippines
- D. guianensis Taczanowski, 1874 – French Guiana
- D. guineensis Berland & Millot, 1940 – Guinea
- D. kollari Doleschall, 1859 – Myanmar, Malaysia
- D. konplong Logunov, 2018 – Vietnam
- D. labangan Barrion-Dupo & Barrion, 2018 – Philippines
- D. lamia MacLeay, 1839 (type) – Cuba, Puerto Rico
- D. liukuensis Yin, Griswold & Yan, 2002 – China
- D. longipalpula Strand, 1913 – Central Africa
- D. longipes F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902 – Mexico to Panama
- D. luzonensis Barrion-Dupo & Barrion, 2018 – Philippines
- D. madagascariensis Lenz, 1886 – Madagascar
- D. mediocris Kulczyński, 1908 – New Guinea
- D. ornata Pocock, 1902 – Ethiopia
- D. pallida Mello-Leitão, 1939 – Brazil
- D. pardalis Simon, 1906 – Brazil
- D. plurituberculata Mello-Leitão, 1925 – Brazil
- D. ravida L. Koch, 1879 – Australia (Queensland)
- D. reticulata (Rainbow, 1899) – New Guinea
- D. rodophthalma Mello-Leitão, 1939 – Brazil
- D. schomburgki Karsch, 1878 – Australia (South Australia)
- D. schoutedeni Giltay, 1929 – Congo
- D. scrubjunglei Caleb & Mathai, 2014 – India
- D. seriata Simon, 1906 – Brazil
- D. spinosa Marx, 1889 – USA, St. Vincent, Venezuela
- D. subrufa L. Koch, 1879 – Australia (Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania), New Zealand
- D. tabida L. Koch, 1879 – Australia (Queensland)
- D. tuboculata Franganillo, 1926 – Cuba
- D. unicolor L. Koch, 1879 – Australia (Western Australia)
References
- Gloor, Daniel; Nentwig, Wolfgang; Blick, Theo; Kropf, Christian (2019). "Gen. Deinopis MacLeay, 1839". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
- Leong, T.M. & Foo, S.K. (2009), "An encounter with the net-casting spider, Deinopis species in Singapore (Araneae: Deinopidae)" (PDF), Nature in Singapore, 2: 247–255, retrieved 2015-09-28
- MacLeay, W. S. (1839). "On some new forms of Arachnida". Annals of Natural History. 2 (7): 1–2.
- "Gen. Deinopis MacLeay, 1839", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 2015-09-28
- "How spiders see the world". Australian Museum. 2015-10-30. Retrieved 2016-09-07.