Family MIGIDAE Simon, 1892

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Introduction

The Migidae are a group of small mygalomorph spiders that remained almost unknown in Australia until late in the 20th Century. Typically, they build small tubes on trees or in the ground, closing them with a trapdoor. Migids were originally thought to be restricted to rainforest, but are now known to have diversified in drier open forest and vine thickets.

Diagnosis

Differ from the South American Neocteniza and the Actinopodidae by the longitudinal keels on the cheliceral fangs, and by the absence of a cheliceral rastellum.
Australian migids are small spiders with two distinct longitudinal keels on the outer surface of the fang. The chelicerae have 2 rows of teeth and the rastellum is entirely absent. Fovea straight, recurved, or tripartite T-shaped. Eyes in 2 rows, occupying at least half of headwidth, not on tubercle. Most distal haematodocha of bulb small; distal sclerite conical. The paired claws of males and females have a reduced number of teeth; the third claw is bare. At least tibia and metatarsi of legs I and II have strong lateral spines. The caput is glabrous and arched and the thoracic region behind fovea is as high as or lower than fovea. Only 4 spinnerets present and with the apical segment of the posterior lateral spinnerets domed. The maxillae lack a serrula.

Diagnosis References

Raven, R.J. 1985. The spider infraorder Mygalomorphae (Araneae): Cladistics and Systematics. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 182(1): 1-180 [Date published December 5, 1985] [144]

History of changes