Heptathela

{{short description|Genus of trapdoor spiders}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Heptathela.kimurai.yanbaruensis.female.-.tanikawa.jpg

| image_caption = Heptathela kimurai

| taxon = Heptathela

| authority = Kishida, 1923

| diversity_link = #Species

| diversity = 20 species

| diversity_ref =

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = See text

}}

Heptathela is a genus of spiders that includes the Kimura spider (Heptathela kimurai). They are trapdoor spiders of the family Heptathelidae{{cite web |title=Family Heptathelidae Kishida, 1923 (genus list) |work=World Spider Catalog |publisher=Natural History Museum Bern |url=https://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/genlist/149 |access-date=2023-12-14 }} and are found in Japan, including Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands. Spiders of this genus lack venom glands.{{cite journal

|author1=Forster, R. R. |author2=Platnick, N. I. |name-list-style=amp | year=1984

| title=A review of the archaeid spiders and their relatives, with notes on the limits of the superfamily Palpimanoidea (Arachnida, Araneae)

| journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History | volume=178| pages=1–106 |hdl=2246/991 }} Full text at {{cite web | title=A review of the archaeid spiders and their relatives

| url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/991/1/B178a01.pdf | accessdate=2008-10-13

}} (60 MB)

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

Species

{{As of|2022|1}}, the World Spider Catalog accepted the following species:

{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}

{{Div col end}}

Many of the species formerly placed in this genus have been transferred to other genera in the family Liphistiidae, including Luthela, Songthela and Vinathela.

Social reference

This is the genus of spider referenced by Vincent Price in the introduction to Alice Cooper's The Black Widow on his Welcome to my Nightmare album.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

References

{{Reflist|refs=

{{Cite book |last1=Murphy |first1=Frances |last2=Murphy |first2=John |date=2000 |title=An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia |location=Kuala Lumpur |publisher=Malaysian Nature Society |isbn=978-983-9681-17-8 |name-list-style=amp }}

{{cite web |title=Gen. Heptathela Kishida, 1923 |work=World Spider Catalog |publisher=Natural History Museum Bern |url=http://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/genus/1761 |accessdate=17 January 2022}}

}}