Idiops

{{Short description|Genus of spiders}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| name = Front-eyed trapdoor spiders

| taxon = Idiops

| image = BannerghattaBlackSpider.jpg

| image_caption = Male Idiops constructor in India

| authority = Perty, 1833

| type_species = I. fuscus

| type_species_authority = Perty, 1833

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = 96, see text

| synonyms =

• Acanthodon Guérin, 1838{{cite journal| last=Pickard-Cambridge| first=O.| year=1870| title=Monograph of the genus Idiops, including descriptions of several species new to science.| journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London| volume=38| issue=1| page=107}}
• Dendricon O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1889{{cite journal| last=Pocock| first=R. I.| year=1895| title=Notes on the identity of some of the types of Mygalomorphae in the collection of the British Museum.| journal=Annals and Magazine of Natural History| volume=16| issue=6| page=223| doi=10.1080/00222939508680262| url=https://zenodo.org/record/1764533}}
• Juambeltzia Mello-Leitão, 1946{{cite journal| last1=Schiapelli| first1=R. D.| last2=Gerschman de P.| first2=B. S.| year=1971| title=Estudio de algunas arañas descriptas por Mello-Leitão para el Uruguay.| journal=Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina| volume=33| page=58}}
• Pseudidiops Simon, 1889{{cite journal| last=Raven| first=R. J.| year=1985| title=The spider infraorder Mygalomorphae (Araneae): Cladistics and systematics.| journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History| volume=182| page=158}}

| synonyms_ref =

}}

file:PZSL1889Plate02, Idiops crassus.png and its trapdoor nest entrance]]

Idiops is a genus of armored trapdoor spiders that was first described by Josef Anton Maximilian Perty in 1833.{{citation| last=Perty| first=M.| year=1833| contribution=Arachnides Brasilienses| editor-last1=de Spix| editor-first1=J. B.| editor-last2=Martius| editor-first2=F. P.| title=Delectus animalium articulatorum quae in itinere per Braziliam ann| author-link=Maximilian Perty}} It is the type genus of the spurred trapdoor spiders, Idiopidae. Idiops is also the most species-rich genus of the family, and is found at widely separated locations in the Neotropics, Afrotropics, Indomalaya and the Middle East.{{cite journal |last1=Das |first1=Sanjay Keshari |last2=Khan |first2=Ruhi Asra |title=A new trapdoor spider species of the genus Idiops Perty, 1833 (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Idiopidae) from Odisha, India |journal=Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity |date=December 2019 |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=678–681 |doi=10.1016/j.japb.2019.09.002 |doi-access=free }} Females live in tubular burrows lined with a thick layer of white silk. These typically have a D-shaped lid that fits into the entrance like a cork, and some burrows have two entrances. The lid may consist of mud, moss or lichen, which is bound below by a thick layer of silk. As in all genera of this family, the anterior lateral eyes (ALE) are situated near the clypeal margin, far in front of the remaining six eyes, which are arranged in a tight group.{{cite book |last1=Jocque |first1=R. |last2=Dippenaar-Schoeman |first2=A. S. |title=Spider families of the world |date=2007 |publisher=Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale |location=Tervuren, Belgium |isbn=978-90-74752-11-4 |pages=146–147 |edition=2nd |url= https://www.africamuseum.be/sites/default/files/media/docs/research/publications/rmca/online/zoology-documentation/spider-families_of_the_world.pdf}} The males which are smaller in size, wander about or occasionally live in burrows.{{cite news |last1= |date=2 October 2019 |title=New trapdoor spider species discovered |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/new-trapdoor-spider-species-discovered/article29570093.ece |accessdate=27 June 2020 |publisher=thehindu.com |agency=The Hindu}} Like other mygalomorphs, they are relatively large and long-lived. Forest clearance and agricultural practices that loosen the soil and enhance erosion, besides soil removal for brick making have been pointed out as serious threats to some Indian species.{{cite journal |last1=Mirza |first1=Zeeshan |last2=Sanap |first2=Rajesh |title=A new species of the genus Idiops and notes on Idiops bombayensis Siliwal et al. 2005 (Araneae: Idiopidae) from Northern Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India |journal=Journal of Arachnology |date=April 2012 |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=85–95 |doi=10.1636/A11-37.1 |jstor=41804576 |s2cid=85696927 |url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230641469 |accessdate=27 June 2020}} Species ranges are poorly known – in India for instance, most species are known only from their type localities.