Heptathela is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of spider

Spider

Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...

s that includes the Kimura-gumo

Kimura-gumo

The kimura-gumo or kimura spider is an Old World spider, found primarily in Japan and named after Kimura Arika, who discovered it in 1920. It belongs to the sub-order Mesothelae and can reach up to 3 cm in length...

. They are basal

Basal (phylogenetics)

In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...

 trapdoor spiders of the family Liphistiidae

Liphistiidae

The spider family Liphistiidae comprises 5 genera and 85 species from Southeast Asia, China, and Japan. They are among the most basal living spiders, belonging to the suborder Mesothelae...

 and are found in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, and Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

.

Females are up to 25 mm long, males slightly smaller. Burrows have an oval shaped door which is hinged across the long diameter.

Name

The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...

 hepta "seven", referring to the number of spinneret glands.

Species

• Heptathela abca Ono, 1999 — Vietnam
  Vietnam
  Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
  
  
• Heptathela amamiensis Haupt, 1983 — Ryukyu Islands
  Ryukyu Islands
  The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
  
  
• Heptathela australis (Ono, 2002) — Vietnam
• Heptathela bristowei Gertsch
  Willis J. Gertsch
  Willis John Gertsch was an American arachnologist. He classified a number of species, including the Brown recluse spider and the Tooth cave spider....
  
  , 1967 — China
• Heptathela ciliensis Yin, Tang & Xu, 2003 — China
• Heptathela cipingensis (Wang, 1989) — China
• Heptathela cucphuongensis Ono, 1999 — Vietnam
• Heptathela goulouensis Yin, 2001 — China
• Heptathela higoensis Haupt, 1983 — Japan
• Heptathela hunanensis Song & Haupt, 1984 — China
• Heptathela jianganensis Chen et al., 1988 — China
• Heptathela kanenoi Ono, 1996 — Ryukyu Is.
• Heptathela kikuyai Ono, 1998 — Japan
• Heptathela kimurai (Kishida, 1920) — Japan ("kimura-gumo")
  • Heptathela kimurai yanbaruensis Haupt, 1983 — Okinawa
• Heptathela luotianensis Yin et al., 2002 — China
• Heptathela mangshan Bao, Yin & Xu, 2003 — China
• Heptathela nishikawai Ono, 1998 — Japan
• Heptathela shei Xu & Yin, 2001 — China
• Heptathela suoxiyuensis Yin, Tang & Xu, 2003 — China
• Heptathela tomokunii Ono, 1997 — Vietnam
• Heptathela wosanensis Wang & Jiao, 1995 — China
• Heptathela xianningensis Yin et al., 2002 — China
• Heptathela yaginumai Ono, 1998 — Japan
• Heptathela yakushimaensis Ono, 1998 — Japan
• Heptathela yunnanensis Song & Haupt, 1984 — China

External links

• Pictures of H. kimurai and its burrow