Dwarf Cobweb Weavers - Family: Mysmenidae
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Mysmenidae spiders are a family of minute arachnids with three claws on each leg and a body length of up to 2 mm. They are found in moist litter and moss in various types of forests, such as tropical rainforest, swamp, temperate rainforest and wet eucalyptus forest. They are found worldwide and despite records being rare, they may well be found in all suitable habitats in Australia. Mysmenidae spiders have eight eyes, a circular or squared carapace, and an oval abdomen with high sides. The spinnerets are often located far from the end of the abdomen. The males usually have a spur on the tibia or a lower segment of the first leg, or both. Mysmenidae spiders differ from other similar small spiders by lacking a 'clamshell appearance' of the abdomen due to hardened material on the sides.
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Some species of Mysmenidae spiders build small orb webs, either in three dimensions or in a plane, while others live as kleptoparasites in the webs of other spiders, such as Dipluridae, Pholcidae or Araneidae. Mysmenidae spiders have been studied using molecular and morphological methods to understand their phylogeny and evolution. Results of these studies are probably best described as somewhat ambiguous still. The mitochondrial genomes of four mysmenid spiders have been sequenced and compared, revealing high variability between the genera Trogloneta and Yamaneta, and possible convergent evolution of cave-dwelling species. It also suggests mysmenid spiders are closely related to the Family: Tetragnathidae.
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All in all there are currently 188 species in 17 genera within the family and despite enjoying a worldwide distribution, of all the Mysmenidae only a single species has so far been described from mainland Australia, while a second species of this family is found exclusively in Tasmania.
M. leichhardti, is the only species possibly occurring in the Northern Rivers, even though it is yet to be recorded from our location. However, there are records of Mysmena sp. spiders from just a stone's throw aeay from the border in Queensland so the inclusion of this species here is not all that far fetched. |
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Mysmena leichhardti (possible occurrence)
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Taxonomy:
Phylum: Arthropoda (Arthropods)
> Subphylum: Chelicerata (Chelicerates)
> Class: Arachnida (Arachnids)
> Order: Aranea (Spiders)
> Suborder: Araneomorphae (Typical Spiders)
> Infraorder: Entelegynea (Entelegyne Spiders)
> Superfamily: Araneoidea (Araneoid Spiders)
> Family: Mysmenidae ( Dwarf Cobweb Weavers)
> Genus: Mysmena
> Species: M. leichhardti ^
^ = possibly
References and links:
> Lopardo, L., Giribet, G. and Hormiga, G., (2011). 'Morphology to the rescue: molecular data and the signal of morphological characters in combined phylogenetic analyses—a case study from mysmenid spiders (Araneae, Mysmenidae), with comments on the evolution of web architecture.' Cladistics, 27: 278-330. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-0031.2010.00332.x
> Lopardo, L. and Hormiga, G. (2015). 'Out of the twilight zone: phylogeny and evolutionary morphology of the orb-weaving spider family Mysmenidae, with a focus on spinneret spigot morphology in symphytognathoids (Araneae, Araneoidea).' Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 173(3): 527-786. doi:10.1111/zoj.12199
> Lopardo, L. and Michalik, P., (2013). 'First description of a mysmenid spider species from mainland Australia and new data for Mysmena tasmaniae Hickman, 1979 (Araneae, Mysmenidae).' Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, Nature 58: 381-396.
https://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=2489
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleptoparasitism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysmenopsis
> Lopardo, L., Giribet, G. and Hormiga, G., (2011). 'Morphology to the rescue: molecular data and the signal of morphological characters in combined phylogenetic analyses—a case study from mysmenid spiders (Araneae, Mysmenidae), with comments on the evolution of web architecture.' Cladistics, 27: 278-330. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-0031.2010.00332.x
> Lopardo, L. and Hormiga, G. (2015). 'Out of the twilight zone: phylogeny and evolutionary morphology of the orb-weaving spider family Mysmenidae, with a focus on spinneret spigot morphology in symphytognathoids (Araneae, Araneoidea).' Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 173(3): 527-786. doi:10.1111/zoj.12199
> Lopardo, L. and Michalik, P., (2013). 'First description of a mysmenid spider species from mainland Australia and new data for Mysmena tasmaniae Hickman, 1979 (Araneae, Mysmenidae).' Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, Nature 58: 381-396.
https://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=2489
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleptoparasitism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysmenopsis
Photographic contributions: