Cambridge Encyclopedia :: Cambridge Encyclopedia Vol. 76

trapdoor spider

A spider that lives in a silk-lined tube constructed in a burrow in the ground, closed off by a silk lid; passing insects are attacked and pulled into the tube with great speed; found in Africa, the Americas, and Australia. (Order: Araneae.)

For other uses, see Trap Door Spiders.
iTrapdoor spiders

Trapdoor spider in burrow
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Suborder: Mygalomorphae
Superfamily: Ctenizoidea
Family: Ctenizidae
Thorell, 1887
Diversity
9 genera, 120 species

Genera

Bothriocyrtum
Cyclocosmia
Ummidia
Cteniza
several others, see text

Trapdoor spiders (superfamily Ctenizoidea, family Ctenizidae) are medium-sized mygalomorph spiders that construct burrows with a cork-like trapdoor made of soil, vegetation and silk.

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