Mastophora (spider)

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Bolas spiders
Bolas Spider, Mastophora phrynosoma - Julie Metz Wetlands, Woodbridge, Virginia.jpg
M. phrynosoma female from Virginia
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
Subfamily: Cyrtarachninae s.l.
Genus: Mastophora
Holmberg, 1876[1]
Type species
M. extraordinaria
Holmberg, 1876
Species

50, see text

Synonyms[1]
  • Agathostichus Simon, 1897

Mastophora, also known as bolas spiders,[2] is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by E. L. Holmberg in 1876.[3] They can be identified by a pair of lumps on the dorsal surface of the opisthosoma, though not all males will have these lumps.[2]

Adult females of the genus snare prey mid-air by using a silk line with an adhesive blob on the end, similar to bolas used by South American gauchos. They feed on flying insects, particularly moths, sometimes releasing pheromones that mimic those of their prey to attract them. Males and juvenile females capture their prey directly with their legs.[4][2]

Species[]

M. bisaccata egg sacs
M. phrynosoma egg sac

As of April 2019 it contains fifty species:[1]

  • Urtubey & Báez, 1983 – Argentina
  • Levi, 2003 – USA
  • Ibarra & Jiménez, 2003 – USA, Mexico
  • Levi, 2003 – USA
  • Gertsch, 1955 – USA
  • Mastophora bisaccata (Emerton, 1884) – USA, Mexico
  • Levi, 2003 – Brazil
  • Eberhard & Levi, 2006 – Costa Rica
  • Mello-Leitão, 1925 – Brazil
  • Levi, 2003 – Brazil
  • Báez & Urtubey, 1985 – Argentina
  • Levi, 2006 – Argentina
  • (Holmberg, 1876) – Argentina
  • Mastophora cornigera (Hentz, 1850) – USA to Nicaragua
  • (Banks, 1898) – Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Brazil
  • Levi, 2003 – Brazil
  • Mello-Leitão, 1928 – Brazil
  • Levi, 2003 – Argentina
  • Mastophora dizzydeani Eberhard, 1981 – Colombia, Peru
  • Levi, 2003 – Peru
  • Mastophora extraordinaria Holmberg, 1876 – Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina
  • Reimoser, 1939 – Costa Rica, Venezuela
  • Levi, 2003 – USA
  • Piza, 1976 – Brazil
  • (Nicolet, 1849) – Chile
  • Birabén, 1946 – Argentina
  • Canals, 1931 – Paraguay, Argentina
  • Mastophora hutchinsoni Gertsch, 1955 – USA, Canada
  • Levi, 2003 – Venezuela
  • Mastophora leucabulba (Gertsch, 1955) – USA to Honduras
  • (Simon, 1897) – Brazil
  • Mello-Leitão, 1940 – Brazil
  • Canals, 1931 – Brazil, Argentina
  • Mello-Leitão, 1936 – Brazil
  • Levi, 2003 – Brazil
  • Mastophora phrynosoma Gertsch, 1955 – USA
  • Mello-Leitão, 1931 – Brazil
  • Levi, 2003 – Brazil
  • Levi, 2003 – Ecuador (Galapagos Is.)
  • Levi, 2003 – Paraguay
  • Canals, 1931 – Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina
  • Levi, 2003 – USA
  • Levi, 2003 – USA
  • Levi, 2003 – Panama
  • Levi, 2003 – USA
  • Mastophora timuqua Levi, 2003 – USA
  • Gertsch, 1955 – Cuba
  • Levi, 2003 – Uruguay
  • Mastophora yeargani Levi, 2003 – USA
  • Levi, 2003 – Brazil

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Gen. Mastophora Holmberg, 1876". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Genus Mastophora". BugGuide. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
  3. ^ Holmberg, E. L. (1876). "Arácnidos argentinos". Anales de Agricultura de la República Argentina. 4: 1–30.
  4. ^ Levi, H.W. (2003). "The bolas spiders of the genus Mastophora (Araneae: Araneidae)". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 157: 309–382.


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