Gradungulidae

Gradungulidae
Gradungula sorenseni (adult male topotype)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Suborder:	Araneomorphae
Superfamily:	Austrochiloidea
Family:	Gradungulidae Forster, 1955
Diversity
7 genera, 16 species

Gradungulidae is a spider family endemic to Australia and New Zealand with 16 species in seven genera. They are medium to large-sized three-clawed haplogyne spiders with two pairs of book-lungs (like Mygalomorphae).

The genus Gradungula lives in forest litter. Progradungula and Macrogradungula are the only cribellate genera of the family.

Various species within Grandungulidae build an extensive web consisting of an upper retreat tangle with connecting threads to scaffolding, which supports the ladder-like catching platform, which in turn is glued to the ground. Progradungula is a large spider with very long legs; it resembles Hickmania of Austrochilidae.

Species

Gradungula Forster, 1955

• Gradungula sorenseni Forster, 1955 — New Zealand

Kaiya Gray, 1987

• Kaiya bemboka Gray, 1987 — New South Wales
• Kaiya brindabella (Moran, 1985) — Australian Capital Territory
• Kaiya parnabyi Gray, 1987 — Victoria
• Kaiya terama Gray, 1987 — New South Wales

Macrogradungula Gray, 1987

• Macrogradungula moonya Gray, 1987 — Queensland

Pianoa Forster, 1987

• Pianoa isolata Forster, 1987 — New Zealand

Progradungula Forster & Gray, 1979

• Progradungula carraiensis Forster & Gray, 1979 — New South Wales
• Progradungula otwayensis Milledge, 1997 — Victoria

Spelungula Forster, 1987

• Spelungula cavernicola Forster, 1987 — New Zealand

Tarlina Gray, 1987

• Tarlina daviesae Gray, 1987 — Queensland
• Tarlina milledgei Gray, 1987 — New South Wales
• Tarlina noorundi Gray, 1987 — New South Wales
• Tarlina simipes Gray, 1987 — Queensland
• Tarlina smithersi Gray, 1987 — New South Wales
• Tarlina woodwardi (Forster, 1955) — Queensland

See also

• List of Gradungulidae species
• Spider families

References

• Forster, R. R., Gray, M. R. (1979): Progradungula, a new cribellate genus of the spider family Gradungulidae (Araneae). Australian Journal of Zoology 27: 1051-1071. Abstract
• Forster, R. R., Platnick, N. I. and Gray, M. R. (1987): A review of the spider superfamilies Hypochiloidea and Austrochiloidea (Araneae, Araneomorphae). Bulletin of the AMNH 185(1): 1-116 Abstract - PDF (50Mb)
• Platnick, Norman I. (2014): The world spider catalog, version 14.5. American Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5531/db.iz.0001

External links

• Carrai cave spider Progradungula carraiensis