Mastophora, also known as bolas spiders,[2] is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by E. L. Holmberg in 1876.[3] They can be identified by a pair of lumps on the dorsal surface of the opisthosoma, though not all males will have these lumps.[2]

Bolas spiders
M. phrynosoma female from Virginia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
Subfamily: Cyrtarachninae s.l.
Genus: Mastophora
Holmberg, 1876[1]
Type species
M. extraordinaria
Holmberg, 1876
Species

50, see text

Synonyms[1]
  • Agathostichus Simon, 1897

Adult females of the genus snare prey mid-air by using a silk line with an adhesive blob on the end, similar to bolas used by South American gauchos. They feed on flying insects, particularly moths, sometimes releasing pheromones that mimic those of their prey to attract them. Males and juvenile females capture their prey directly with their legs.[4][2] Mastophora spiders have extreme sexual size dimorphism: adult females reach 0,75 inches (19 mm), while adult males are smaller than 0,067 inches (1,7 mm). These spiders reach maturity after two instars, or fewer.[5] Cephalothorax often with dorsal protuberances, frequently paired. Female abdomen large, wider than long, an occasion has dorsal humps or lobes. Prey specialization by means of aggressive chemical mimicry.[6]

Species

edit
 
M. bisaccata egg sacs
 
M. phrynosoma egg sac

As of April 2019 it contains fifty species:[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Gen. Mastophora Holmberg, 1876". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
  2. ^ a b c "Genus Mastophora". BugGuide. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
  3. ^ Holmberg, E. L. (1876). "Arácnidos argentinos". Anales de Agricultura de la República Argentina. 4: 1–30.
  4. ^ Levi, H.W. (2003). "The bolas spiders of the genus Mastophora (Araneae: Araneidae)". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 157: 309–382.
  5. ^ Platnick, Norman I., ed. (2020). Spiders of the world: a natural history. Princeton Oxford: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-18885-0.
  6. ^ Norman, I. Platnick (2020). Spiders of the World: A Natural History. London: Ivy Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-1-78240-750-8.