Kimura-gumo
|
|
| Kimura-gumo | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | ||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||||
| Heptalhela kimurai Kishida, 1923 |
The kimura-gumo (Heptathela kimurai) is a spider, named after Kimura Arika, who discovered it in 1920. It belongs to the sub-order Mesothelae (primitive burrowing spiders). Their burrows are covered by a camoflaged "pill box" flap.
The ancestral traits of the Kimura-gumo include central spinnerets and signs of segmentation on the abdomen. These features are not seen on modern spiders, thus studying the Kimura-gumo can shed light on the evolution of all spiders.
The word kumo in Japanese means spider. ("Gumo" is a variation in pronunciation due to a linking phenomenon similar to that known as "liaison" in French.) The kimura spider is about 400 million years old, placing it among the most primitive living spiders. Its spinnerets are located in the middle of the body, as opposed to the more efficient location in modern spiders at the rear of the abdomen. It fixes its eggs on the surface of its burrow with silk so that they are well protected. The spider surrounds underground tunnels also with a cobweb. When it sets out on a hunt, it pays out a line of silk behind it. This "lifeline" helps it in orienting itself.
There are a number of Heptathela kimurai subspecies including; H. k. amamiensis, H. k. higoensis, H. k. yanbaruensis and H. k. yakushimaensis [1] (http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/LIPHISTIIDAE.html).
References
- Tomo Kočar, Strah je okrogel in ima osem nog (The fear is round and it has eight legs), GEA 12 (2002) 7, pp 46 - 49.
- Yoshikura, M. 1982. Kumo no fushigi (The wonder of spiders). Iwanami-shoten, Tokyo.
External links
- Photographs the Kimura-gumo and the entrance to their lairs (http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~vp6m-bn/001okinawa.htm)
- (the Asahi net) for Japanese species (http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~dp7a-tnkw/okinawa/yanbarukimuragumo.htm)
- (the amonline net) for Australian species (http://www.amonline.net.au/collections/arachnology/record.cfm?id=14)
- World Spider Catalog listing H. kimurai and numerous subspecies (http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/LIPHISTIIDAE.html)ja:キムラグモ