Gnaphosoidea | |
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Gnaphosa bicolor | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
Class: | Arachnida |
Order: | Araneae |
Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
Clade: | Entelegynae |
Clade: | Dionycha |
Superfamily: | Gnaphosoidea Simon, 1893[1] |
Families | |
See text |
The Gnaphosoidea or gnaphosoids are a superfamily of araneomorph spiders with seven families. A 2014 study did not find the group to be monophyletic.
Gnaphosoidea has been circumscribed to contain the following families:[1]
Gnaphosoidea has been placed in the Dionycha clade, itself part of the RTA clade:[2]
RTA clade |
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The Prodidomidae, Lamponidae and Gnaphosidae have been considered "higher gnaphosoids", sharing anterior lateral spinnerets consisting of only a single "joint" (article); the "lower gnaphosoids" (Ammoxenidae, Cithaeronidae, Gallieniellidae and Trochanteriidae) retain a distal article that is represented by an entire ring of hardened (sclerotized) cuticle.[3] (Earlier the Lamponidae were grouped with the "lower gnaphosoids", having spinnerets of an intermediate kind.[4]) One hypothesis for the internal phylogeny of the gnaphosoids, defined in this way, is:[2]
Gnaphosoidea |
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A 2014 study of dionychan spiders did not recover Gnaphosoidea as a monophyletic group, instead finding "gnaphosoid" families other than Gnaphosidae and Prodidomidae to be part of a larger clade, mixed in with three other dionychan families, Liocranidae, Trachelidae and Phrurolithidae. Forcing Gnaphosoidea to be monophyletic produced results described as "quite suboptimal".[5]