Wall crab spider

Wall crab spiders
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Selenops sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Selenopidae Simon, 1897
Genera
Anyphops Benoit, 1968 Garcorops Corronca, 2003 Hovops Benoit, 1968 Selenops Latreille, 1819
Diversity
4 genera, 189 species
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The wall crab spiders are members of a the family Selenopidae. The Selenopidae are one of several families variously called crab spiders because of their laterigrade (sideways-moving) legs. This family consists of about 175 species in four genera, of which Selenops is the best known. The family is primarily tropical with the genus Anyphops confined to Sub-Saharan Africa and the genus Hovops confined to Madagascar. The spiders are very flat and are commonly found on walls or under rocks. They are quite agile and very difficult to capture. In addition their coloring makes them often quite difficult to see. Like almost all Entelegynae, they have eight eyes. At least one species of Garcorops, G. jadis, is known only from subfossil copal.

Genera

• Anyphops (Africa, Madagascar)
• Garcorops (Madagascar, Comoro Islands)
• Hovops (Madagascar, Reunion)
• Selenops (America, Asia, Africa, Mediterranean)

See also

• List of Selenopidae species
• Spider families

References

• Penney, D., Ono, H. & Selden, P.A. (2005). A new synonymy for the Madagascan copal spider fauna (Araneae, Selenopidae). J. Afrotrop. Zool. 2:41-44. PDF