Family MICROPHOLCOMMATIDAE Hickman, 1944
Compiler and date details
2011 - Helen M. Smith
Valerie Todd Davies, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Introduction
These are minute, 3-clawed spiders without book-lungs. They have a dorsal abdominal scutum; an epigastric scutum extending round pedicel and a sclerotised ring around spinnerets in both male and female. The colulus is present; and eight eyes. In the female, the palp is vestigial or with less than six segments. The male palp has a patellar apophysis. Tarsi are longer than metatarsi, no tarsal or metatarsal trichobothria present; anterior spiracles present (tracheae to cephalothorax and abdomen); and posterior spiracle (with unbranched tracheae to abdomen). They build small irregular webs.
Much information on the family has recently been contributed in publications by M. Rix et al., including a molecular phylogeny of the family (Rix, Harvey & Roberts, 2008), and a major generic level revisionary study (Rix & Harvey, 2010).
Diagnosis
Minute to tiny (up to 2mm) litter-dwelling entelegyne spiders. 6 or 8 eyes. Abdomen broadly oval, or circular; laterally normal, or high; laterally with 3 or more extensive scute; dorsal scute covers all or most of dorsum, or with small, scattered sclerotized spots; ventral scute covers outer edges of book lung openings; pedicel entirely sclerotised and inserted at ventral scutum. Spinnerets encircled by sclerotised ring. Tarsi about twice as long as metatarsi; palp on female entire, reduced or absent. 3 claws.
Diagnosis References
Raven, R.J., Baehr, B.C. & Harvey, M.S. 2002. An Interactive Key to Australian Spider Subfamilies. Melbourne : Australian Biological Resources Study: CSIRO Publishing
General References
Rix, M.G, Harvey, M.S. & Roberts, J.D. 2008. Molecular phylogenetics of the spider family Micropholcommatidae (Arachnida: Araneae) using nuclear rRNA genes (18S and 28S). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 46: 1031-1048
Rix, M.G. & Harvey, M.S. 2010. The spider family Micropholcommatidae (Arachnida, Araneae, Araneoidea): a relimitation and revision at the generic level. ZooKeys 36: 1-321