Damastes (spider)
| Damastes | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Sparassidae |
| Genus: | Damastes Simon, 1880[1] |
| Type species | |
| D. grandidieri Simon, 1880
| |
| Species | |
|
16, see text | |
Damastes is a genus of East African huntsman spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1880.[2] It is classified under the family Sparassidae, though its subfamilial classification remains unclear.[3][4] The subspecies Damastes coquereli affinis is a nomen dubium.[5]
Species
[edit]As of September 2019[update] it contains sixteen species, found on the Seychelles, in Mozambique, and on Madagascar:[1]
- Damastes atrignathus Strand, 1908 – Madagascar
- Damastes coquereli Simon, 1880 – Madagascar
- Damastes decoratus (Simon, 1897) – Madagascar
- Damastes fasciolatus (Simon, 1903) – Madagascar
- Damastes flavomaculatus Simon, 1880 – Madagascar
- Damastes grandidieri Simon, 1880 (type) – Madagascar
- Damastes majungensis Strand, 1907 – Madagascar
- Damastes malagassus (Fage, 1926) – Madagascar
- Damastes malagasus (Karsch, 1881) – Madagascar
- Damastes masculinus Strand, 1908 – Madagascar
- Damastes nigrichelis (Strand, 1907) – Mozambique
- Damastes nossibeensis Strand, 1907 – Madagascar
- Damastes oswaldi Lenz, 1891 – Madagascar
- Damastes pallidus (Schenkel, 1937) – Madagascar
- Damastes sikoranus Strand, 1906 – Madagascar
- Damastes validus (Blackwall, 1877) – Seychelles
Trapping prey
[edit]An unspecified Damastes species has been observed in the Sava Region of northeast Madagascar predating on vertebrates (frogs, Heterixalus andrakata).[6][7][8] The same spider - and others of the same species - also build structures of leaves and silk and hide in the back of them.[6][7][8] It is speculated that these are traps for catching these frogs.[6][7][8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Gen. Damastes Simon, 1880". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. 2019. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
- ^ Simon, E. (1880). "Révision de la famille des Sparassidae (Arachnides)". Actes de la Société Linnéenne de Bordeaux. 34: 223–351.
- ^ Peter Jäger (2002). "Heteropodinae: Transfers and Synonymies (Arachnida: Araneae: Sparassidae" (PDF). Acta Arachnologica. 51 (1): 33–61. doi:10.2476/asjaa.51.33.
- ^ Peter Jäger (1997). "First results of a taxonomic revision of the SE Asian Sparassidae (Araneae)" (PDF). Proceedings of the 17th European Colloquium of Arachnology, Edinburgh 1997: 53–59. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-26.
- ^ Strand, E. (1907). "Diagnosen neuer Spinnen aus Madagaskar und Sansibar". Zoologischer Anzeiger. 31: 725–748.
- ^ a b c Buehler, Jake (2021-01-04). "These spiders may sew leaves into fake shelters to lure frogs to their doom". Science News. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
- ^ a b c Yirka, Bob (2021-01-11). "Evidence of huntsman spider creating leaf trap for a frog found in Madagascar". Phys.org. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
- ^ a b c Fulgence, Thio Rosin; Martin, Dominic Andreas; Kreft, Holger; Ratsoavina, Fanomezana Mihaja; Andrianarimisa, Aristide (2020-12-11). "Spider traps amphibian in northeastern Madagascar". Ecology and Evolution. 11 (2). Wiley Publishing: 682–687. doi:10.1002/ece3.7102. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 7820146. PMID 33520157.