Nops (spider)

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Nops
Temporal range: Neogene–present
Nops guanabacoae male, Cuba
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Caponiidae
Genus: Nops
authority = MacLeay, 1839[1]
Type species
N. guanabacoae
MacLeay, 1839
Species

38, see text

Nops is a genus of medium-sized South American, Central American, and Caribbean spiders in the family Caponiidae, first described by Alexander Macleay in 1839.[2] It has a great richness on the Caribbean islands, and most mainland species are located in high proportion toward the Caribbean coast. It likely has a neotropical distribution, though most species of South America are known only from the coast of Colombia and Venezuela, including the islands of Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire and Trinidad.[1]

Monophyly

Nops have subsegmeted tarsi, as well as two other leg characters often found in nopine genera: a ventral translucent keel on the anterior metatarsi and a translucent membrane between the anterior metatarsi and tarsi. These spiders can be distinguished from similar genera with these modifications by their elongated unpaired claw on the anterior legs, extending dorsally between the paired claws.[3][4][5][6]

Species

As of April 2019 it contains thirty-eight species plus one fossil in Dominican amber:[7][1]

Image gallery

  • Nops craneae Chickering, carapace
    Nops craneae Chickering, carapace
  • Nops enae Sánchez-Ruiz
    Nops enae Sánchez-Ruiz
  • Nops guanabacoae MacLeay, female with egg sac
    Nops guanabacoae MacLeay, female with egg sac
  • Nops guanabacoae MacLeay, male
    Nops guanabacoae MacLeay, male
  • Nops guanabacoae MacLeay, claws on leg I
    Nops guanabacoae MacLeay, claws on leg I
  • Nops guanabacoae MacLeay, tarso of leg I
    Nops guanabacoae MacLeay, tarso of leg I
  • Nops siboney Sánchez-Ruiz, ventral view
    Nops siboney Sánchez-Ruiz, ventral view

References