Selenops

{{Short description|Genus of spiders}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Palaeogene|present}}

| image = Selenops sp. (Marshal Hedin).jpg

| image_caption = Selenops sp.

| taxon = Selenops

| authority = Latreille, 1819

| diversity_link = List of Selenopidae species#Selenops

| diversity = 132 species

}}

Selenops is a spider genus that is found in many arid regions of the world, but some species may also be found in some cooler and even mountainous regions. Most of the 132 species (as of May. 2021) are hard to visually distinguish, and requires study of their finer anatomy.

S. australiensis is found on or under dry bark in Australia. The female reaches 9mm, the male 7mm. It looks superficially like a huntsman spider.

S. radiatus has proved to be an effective controlling agent of the potato tuber moth in South Africa.

Selenops is the first spider known to be able to steer and glide when falling, in order to land in or on a tree, instead of falling to the ground.{{Cite web|url = http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150818-spiders-animals-science-flying-forests|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150820144105/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150818-spiders-animals-science-flying-forests/|url-status = dead|archive-date = August 20, 2015|title = Flying Spiders Found—and They Can Steer in Mid-Air|date = |website = |last = |first = }}{{Cite journal|url = http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/12/110/20150534|title = Arachnid aloft: directed aerial descent in neotropical canopy spiders| year=2015 | doi=10.1098/rsif.2015.0534 | last1=Yanoviak | first1=Stephen P. | last2=Munk | first2=Yonatan | last3=Dudley | first3=Robert | journal=Journal of the Royal Society Interface | volume=12 | issue=110 | page=0534 | pmid=26289654 | pmc=4614463 }}

Selenops spiders are able to attack prey approaching from all directions. When attacking prey from behind, they show some of the fastest turning movements documented in terrestrial legged animals.{{Cite journal|last1=Zeng|first1=Yu|last2=Crews|first2=Sarah|date=2018-04-01|title=Biomechanics of omnidirectional strikes in flat spiders|journal=Journal of Experimental Biology|language=en|volume=221|issue=7|pages=jeb166512|doi=10.1242/jeb.166512|issn=0022-0949|pmid=29440135|doi-access=free}}