| Progradungula | |
|---|---|
| |
| P. otwayensis | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Gradungulidae |
| Genus: | Progradungula Forster & Gray, 1979 |
| Type species | |
| P. carraiensis Forster & Gray, 1979 | |
| Species | |
| |
Progradungula is a genus of Australian large-clawed spiders that was first described by Raymond Robert Forster and Michael R. Gray in 1979. As of May 2024 it contains only three species: P. barringtonensis, P. carraiensis and P. otwayensis.
The name is derived from Latin pro ("before"), and the genus name Gradungula, referring to the ancient ancestry of the genus. It is the first discovered web-building cribellate spider in a "primitive" araneomorph spider family and helped establish the idea that all araneomorph spiders evolved from cribellate ancestors.
These spiders have an uncommon web-making technique and prey-capturing behaviour. A small (approximately 25 mm × 6 mm (0.98 in × 0.24 in)), tilting, ladder-like platform of cribellate capturing silk is supported by an overhead structure of threads linked to the rock walls and consists of two parallel stabilizing silk lines.
References
- ^ "Gen. Progradungula Forster & Gray, 1979". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. 2024. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- Forster, R. R.; Gray, M. R. (1979). "Progradungula, a new cribellate genus of the spider family Gradungulidae (Araneae)". Australian Journal of Zoology. 27 (6): 1051–1071. doi:10.1071/zo9791051.
- Milledge, G. (1997). "A new species of Progradungula Forster & Gray (Araneae: Gradungulidae)from Victoria". Memoirs of Museum Victoria. 56 (1): 65–68. doi:10.24199/j.mmv.1997.56.02.
- Platnick, Norman I.; Dupérré, Nadine (2010-03-15). "The Goblin Spider Genus Scaphiella (Araneae, Oonopidae)". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 332: 1–156. doi:10.1206/700.1. ISSN 0003-0090.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Progradungula | |