View source for Dwarf tarantula

{{short description|Spiders of the family Mecicobothriidae}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Cretaceous|present}}
| image = Boletin de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias en Córdoba (20394365431).jpg
| image_caption = Illustration of ''[[Mecicobothrium thorelli]]''
| taxon = Mecicobothriidae
| authority = [[Eduardo Ladislao Holmberg|Holmberg]], 1882<ref name=WSC_gl53/>
}}

'''Dwarf tarantulas''', also known as '''sheet funnel-web spiders''' are a type of spider from the [[family (biology)|family]] '''Mecicobothriidae'''. Dwarf tarantulas are one of several families of the suborder [[Mygalomorphae]]; this larger group also includes the true [[tarantula]]s.

==Description==
Dwarf tarantulas, as the name indicates, appear very similar to tarantulas, but are physically much smaller. Many specimens are smaller than 1&nbsp;cm in length, and the largest in the family are seldom larger than 2&nbsp;cm. The spiders, like all Mygalomorphae, have downward pointing fangs; dwarf tarantulas also have long [[Spinneret (spider)|spinnerets]].

==Genera==
There is currently only 1 recognized [[genus]] in this family:<ref name=WSC_gl53>{{citation |title=Family: Mecicobothriidae Holmberg, 1882 (genus list) |work=World Spider Catalog |publisher=Natural History Museum Bern |url=https://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/genlist/53 |access-date=2020-07-16 }}</ref>

''[[Mecicobothrium]]'' <small>Holmberg, 1882</small>
* ''[[Mecicobothrium baccai]]'' <small>Lucas et al., 2006</small> — Brazil
* ''[[Mecicobothrium thorelli]]'' <small>Holmberg, 1882</small> — Argentina, Uruguay

Genera moved to other families include:
*''[[Hexura]]'' <small>Simon, 1884</small> → [[Antrodiaetidae]]
*''[[Hexurella]]'' <small>Gertsch & Platnick, 1979</small> → [[Hexurellidae]]
*''[[Megahexura]]'' <small>Kaston, 1972</small> → [[Megahexuridae]]

==See also==
* [[Spider families]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}
* Costa, F.G. & Pérez-Miles, F. (1998). Behavior, life cycle, and webs of ''Mecicobothrium thorelli'', ''The Journal of Arachnology'' 26:317-329 [http://www.americanarachnology.org/JoA_free/JoA_v26_n3/JoA_v26_p317.pdf PDF] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204081246/http://www.americanarachnology.org/JoA_free/JoA_v26_n3/JoA_v26_p317.pdf |date=2012-02-04 }}
*Gertsch, W.G. & Platnick, N.I. (1979). A revision of the spider family Mecicobothriidae (Araneae, Mygalomorphae).  ''American Museum Novitates'' 2687 [http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/5425/1/N2687.pdf PDF (14Mb)] - [http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/handle/2246/5425 Abstract]
* {{cite journal|title=First record of the Mecicobothriidae Holmberg from Brazil, with a description of a new species of ''Mecicobothrium'' (Aranea, Mygalomorphae)|author1=Lucas, Sylvia Marlene|author2=Indicatti, Rafael Prezzi|author3=Brescovit, Antonio Domingos|author4=Francisco, Rafael Carlo|journal=Zootaxa|volume=1326|pages=45–53|date=2006|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.1326.1.5|url=http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2006f/z01326p053f.pdf}}
{{Refend}}

{{Wikispecies|Mecicobothriidae}}
{{Commons category|Mecicobothriidae}}

{{Araneae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q10630}}

[[Category:Atypoidea]]
[[Category:Spiders of South America]]
[[Category:Spiders of North America]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Eduardo Ladislao Holmberg]]


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