Tartarus (spider)

Tartarus
T. mullamullangensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Suborder: Araneidae
Family: Stiphidiidae
Genus: Tartarus
Gray, 1973
Species

See text.

Diversity
4 species

Tartarus is a genus of spiders. All four described species are found in caves systems of Western Australia. These are located in the karst area of the Nullarbor Plain. They are likely relict species from a time when the region was much more humid, given the fact that the other members of the family Stiphidiidae in Southern Australia live in forests.

Names

The genus name is derived from Tartarus, a place in the underworld of Greek mythology, even lower than Hades. All four species take their common names, and the specific epithet, from the caves in which they were first collected.

Tartarus murdochensis and Tartarus thampannensis are both commonly called Murdoch sink cave spider, Tartarus nurinensis is also known as the Nurina cave spider.

Species

References

    External links


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