Porrhothele

Porrhothele
Porrhothele antipodiana
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Mygalomorphae
Family:	Porrhothelidae Hedin & Bond, 2018
Genus:	Porrhothele Simon, 1892[1]
Type species
P. antipodiana (Walckenaer, 1837)
Species
5, see text

Porrhothele is a genus of mygalomorph spiders endemic to New Zealand. They are the only members of the family Porrhothelidae. They were first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1892.[2] Originally placed with the curtain web spiders,[2] it was moved to the Hexathelidae in 1980,[3] they were placed in their own family in 2018.[4]

Members of Porrhothelidae are distinguished from other mygalomorph spiders by the small posterior sigillae and a single row of teeth on the forward-facing margin of the chelicerae. Males have many strong spines on the forward-facing margin of their tibiae.[4]

Taxonomy

The genus Porrhothele was erected by Eugène Simon in 1892 for the species Porrhothele antipodiana. Simon transferred these from Mygale, a genus previously used for many mygalomorph spiders, but is no longer in use. He placed this genus in the subfamily Diplurinae,[2] which later became the family Dipluridae. Raven transferred the genus to Hexathelidae,[3] where it remained until the results of a 2018 molecular phylogenetic study suggested that it belongs in its own family.[4]

The following cladogram shows the possible relationship of Porrhothele to related taxa.

	Dipluridae Hexathelidae Porrhothele (Porrhothelidae) Macrothelidae Calisoga (Nemesiidae) Hebestatis (Halonoproctidae) Atracidae Actinopodidae

Species

As of May 2019^[update] it contains five species, all found in New Zealand:[1]

• Porrhothele antipodiana (Walckenaer, 1837) (type) – New Zealand
• Porrhothele blanda Forster, 1968 – New Zealand
• Porrhothele moana Forster, 1968 – New Zealand
• Porrhothele modesta Forster, 1968 – New Zealand
• Porrhothele quadrigyna Forster, 1968 – New Zealand

References

1. "Gen. Porrhothele Simon, 1892". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. 2019. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
2. Simon, E (1892). Histoire naturelle des araignées. Paris: Roret. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51973.
3. Raven, R. J. (1980). "The evolution and biogeography of the mygalomorph spider family Hexathelidae (Araneae, Chelicerata)". Journal of Arachnology. 8: 251–266.
4. Hedin, M.; et al. (2018). "Phylogenomic reclassification of the world's most venomous spiders (Mygalomorphae, Atracinae), with implications for venom evolution". Scientific Reports. 8 (1636): 1636. Bibcode:2018NatSR...8.1636H. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-19946-2. PMC 5785998. PMID 29374214.