Missulena

{{Redirect|Mouse spider|the European ground spider species|Scotophaeus blackwalli}} {{Short description|Genus of spiders}} {{Automatic taxobox | taxon = Missulena | image = Male_Missulena_occatoria_spider_-_cropped.JPG | image_caption = Male ''Missulena occatoria'' | authority = Walckenaer, 1805<ref name=WSC_g2 /> | type_species = ''M. occatoria'' | type_species_authority = Walckenaer, 1805 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = 21, see text | synonyms = *''Eriodon'' Latreille, 1806<ref name=Simo1903 /> | synonyms_ref = <ref name=WSC_g2 /> }}

'''''Missulena''''' is a genus of mygalomorph spiders in the family Actinopodidae. It was first described by Charles Walckenaer in 1805,<ref name=Walc1805 /> and is a senior synonym of ''Eriodon''.<ref name=Simo1903 /> ''M. tussulena'' is found in Chile, but the rest are indigenous to Australia.<ref name=Golo1994 /> They are sometimes referred to as "mouse spiders" from the now-disproven belief that they dig deep burrows similar to those of mice. ''Scotophaeus blackwalli'' is also called a "mouse spider", but it is smaller and not closely related.

==Description== These spiders are medium to large in size, ranging from {{convert|1|to|3|cm}}. They have a glossy carapace and high, broad heads with eyes spread out across the front of the head,<ref name=sciencentre /><ref name=australianmuseum /> and short spinnerets in the rear of the abdomen. They also exhibit sexual dimorphism. Females are entirely black, while male colouration is specific to each species. For instance, male eastern mouse spiders (''M. bradleyi'') have a bluish patch, while male red-headed mouse spiders (''M. occatoria'') are brownish or blue-black with bright red-tinged jaws.<ref name=Wome1943 />

===Identification=== thumb|left|250px|''Missulena bradleyi'' Though they resemble most genera of the infraorder Mygalomorphae, they can be easily distinguished by the large pair of chelicerae, as well as by the placement of two small eyes in the centre of the head and three at each side, whereas in all other trapdoor spiders the eyes are grouped in a mound at the centre of the head.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Museum |first=c=AU; co=Queensland Government; ou=Queensland |title=Mouse Spiders |url=https://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Explore/Find+out+about/Animals+of+Queensland/Spiders/Primitive+Spiders+Infraorder+Mygalomorphae/Mouse+Spiders |access-date=2022-09-20 |website=www.qm.qld.gov.au}}</ref>

Females are harder to identify than males, as they are entirely black, while males exhibit brighter colouration, usually in the form of a blueish abdomen or reddish carapace and chelicerae, or both.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mouse Spiders |url=https://identify-spiders.com/spider-families/mouse-spiders/ |access-date=2022-09-20 |website=Spidentify |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat== These spiders have a Gondwanan distribution, with one species found in Chile and the rest distributed throughout Australia.

==Behaviour== These spiders live in trapdoor-covered burrows that can extend to nearly {{convert|30|cm}} in depth. Females generally remain in their burrows, depending on the males to wander in search of mates. They mainly prey on insects, though they may consume other small animals as opportunity presents. Their primary predators include wasps, centipedes and scorpions.

== Medical significance == Bites from these spiders are painful, but not generally dangerous. Serious envenomation is relatively rare, but bites documented in medical literature did not require antivenom treatment or involve serious symptoms. There is evidence that a mouse spider bite can potentially be as serious as that of an Australian funnel-web spider, but recorded bites are rare, despite the abundance of some species amid human habitation.<ref name=nswgov />

These spiders look very similar to the Australian funnel-web spiders and bites should be initially treated as funnel-web spider bites until the spider is positively identified by an expert. Australian funnel-web spider antivenom has been found to be effective in treating severe mouse spider bites.<ref name=sciencentre /><ref name=australianmuseum /> Unlike the Australian funnel-web spiders, however, the mouse spider is far less aggressive towards humans, and may often bite without releasing any venom.<ref name=nswgov />

==Species== {{as of|2024|9}} it contains 26 species:<ref name=WSC_g2 /> {{div col|colwidth=24em}} *''M. bradleyi'' Rainbow, 1914 – Australia (NSW) *''M. davidi'' Greenberg, Huey, Framenau & Harms, 2021 – Australia (WA) *''M. dipsaca'' Faulder, 1995 – Australia *''M. durokoppin'' Marsh, Stevens & Framenau, 2023 – Australia (WA) *''M. faulderi'' Harms & Framenau, 2013 – Australia (WA) *''M. gelasinos'' Marsh, Stevens & Framenau, 2023 – Australia (WA) *''M. granulosa'' (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869) – Australia (WA) *''M. harewoodi'' Framenau & Harms, 2017 – Australia (WA) *''M. hoggi'' Womersley, 1943 – Australia (WA) *''M. ignea'' Marsh, Stevens & Framenau, 2023 – Australia (WA) *''M. insignis'' (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1877) – Australia *''M. iugum'' Greenberg, Huey, Framenau & Harms, 2021 – Australia (WA) *''M. langlandsi'' Harms & Framenau, 2013 – Australia (WA) *''M. leniae'' Miglio, Harms, Framenau & Harvey, 2014 – Australia (WA) *''M. mainae'' Miglio, Harms, Framenau & Harvey, 2014 – Australia (WA) *''M. manningensis'' Greenberg, Huey, Framenau & Harms, 2021 – Australia (WA) *''M. melissae'' Miglio, Harms, Framenau & Harvey, 2014 – Australia (WA) *''M. minima'' Marsh, Stevens & Framenau, 2023 – Australia (WA) *''M. occatoria'' Walckenaer, 1805 – Australia *''M. pinguipes'' Miglio, Harms, Framenau & Harvey, 2014 – Australia (WA) *''M. pruinosa'' Levitt-Gregg, 1966 – Australia (WA, NT) *''M. reflexa'' Rainbow & Pulleine, 1918 – Australia (SA) *''M. rutraspina'' Faulder, 1995 – Australia (WA, SA, VIC) *''M. terra'' Marsh, Stevens & Framenau, 2023 – Australia (WA) *''M. torbayensis'' Main, 1996 – Australia (WA) *''M. tussulena'' Goloboff, 1994 – Chile {{div col end}}

'''Formerly included:''' *''M. bonneti'' (Zapfe, 1961) (Transferred to ''Plesiolena'')

==References== <references>

<ref name=WSC_g2>{{cite journal| title=Gen. Missulena Walckenaer, 1805| website=World Spider Catalog Version 20.0| access-date=2021-11-14| year=2021| publisher=Natural History Museum Bern| url=http://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/genus/2| doi=10.24436/2}}</ref>

<ref name=Walc1805>{{cite book| last=Walckenaer| first=C. A.| year=1805| title=Tableau des aranéides ou caractères essentiels des tribus, genres, familles et races que renferme le genre Aranea de Linné, avec la désignation des espèces comprises dans chacune de ces divisions| language=French| url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/reference/67}}</ref>

<ref name=Golo1994>{{cite journal| last=Goloboff| first=P.A.| year=1994| title=Migoidea de Chile, nuevas o poco conocidas (Araneae: Mygalomorphae)| journal=Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina| volume=53| pages=65–74| language=Spanish| url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/reference/7715}}</ref>

<ref name=Wome1943>{{cite journal| last=Womersley| first=H.| year=1943| title=A revision of the spiders of the genus ''Missulena'' Walckenaer 1805| journal=Records of the South Australian Museum| volume=7| pages=251–265| url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/reference/2717}}</ref>

<ref name=Simo1903>{{cite book| author-last=Simon| author-first=E.| author-link1=Eugène Simon| year=1903| title=Histoire naturelle des araignées| edition=2nd| publisher=Roret, Paris| pages=669–1080| language=French| doi=10.5962/bhl.title.51973| url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/reference/1313}}</ref>

<ref name=sciencentre>{{cite web| title=Mouse Spiders| publisher=Sciencentre| accessdate=2016-06-28| url=http://www.sciencentre.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Animals+of+Queensland/Spiders/Primitive+Spiders+Infraorder+Mygalomorphae/Mouse+Spiders#.V3NnI44yIfo}}</ref>

<ref name=australianmuseum>{{cite web| title=Mouse Spiders| publisher=Australian Museum| accessdate=2016-06-28| url=http://australianmuseum.net.au/mouse-spiders}}</ref>

<ref name=nswgov>{{cite web| title=Snakebite and Spiderbite Clinical Management Guidelines 2013| publisher=NSW Government| accessdate=2021-11-14| url=https://www1.health.nsw.gov.au/pds/ActivePDSDocuments/GL2014_005.pdf| archive-date=2021-09-28| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928071404/https://www1.health.nsw.gov.au/pds/ActivePDSDocuments/GL2014_005.pdf| url-status=dead}}</ref>

</references>

==Further reading== *{{cite journal| author-last=Ibister| author-first=Geoffrey K.| year=2004| title="Mouse spider bites (''Missulena'' spp.) and their medical importance"| journal=Medical Journal of Australia| volume=180| issue=5| pages=225–227| doi=10.5694/j.1326-5377.2004.tb05890.x}} *{{cite journal| author-last=Greenberg| author-first=M. R.| author2-last=Huey| author2-first=J. A.| author3-last=Framenau| author3-first=V. W.| display-authors=etal| year=2021| journal=Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny| title=Three new species of mouse spider (Araneae: Actinopodidae: ''Missulena'' Walckenaer, 1805) from Western Australia, including an assessment of intraspecific variability in a widespread species from the arid biome| volume=79| pages=509–533| doi=10.3897/asp.79.e62332| url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/reference/16093| doi-access=free}} *{{cite journal| author-last=Framenau| author-first=V. W.| author2-last=Harms| author2-first=D.| year=2017| journal=Evolutionary Systematics| title=A new species of mouse spider (Actinopodidae, ''Missulena'') from the Goldfields region of Western Australia| volume=1| pages=39–46| doi=10.3897/evolsyst.1.14665| url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/reference/14200| doi-access=free}} *{{cite journal| author-last=Miglio| author-first=L. T.| author2-last=Harms| author2-first=D.| author3-last=Framenau| author3-first=V. W.| display-authors=etal| year=2014| journal=ZooKeys| title=Four new mouse spider species (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Actinopodidae, ''Missulena'') from Western Australia| issue=410| pages=121–148| doi=10.3897/zookeys.410.7156| url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/reference/12528| doi-access=free| pmid=24899853| pmc=4042711| bibcode=2014ZooK..410..121M}} *{{cite journal| author-last=Harms| author-first=D.| author2-last=Framenau| author2-first=V. W.| year=2013| journal=Zootaxa| title=New species of mouse spiders (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Actinopodidae: ''Missulena'') from the Pilbara region, Western Australia| volume=3637| issue=5| pages=521–540| doi=10.11646/zootaxa.3637.5.2| url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/reference/12238| url-access=subscription}} *{{cite journal| author-last=Grismado| author-first=C. J.| author2-last=Goloboff| author2-first=P. A.| year=2006| journal=Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales |series=Nueva Serie| title=Descripción del macho de ''Missulena tussulena'' Goloboff 1994 (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Actinopodidae)| volume=8| pages=101–104| doi=10.22179/REVMACN.8.355| url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/reference/10214| doi-access=free}}

==External links== * {{inaturalist taxon}}

Category:Missulena Category:Mygalomorphae genera Category:Taxa named by Charles Athanase Walckenaer Category:Spiders of Australia Category:Spiders of South America Category:Fauna of Chile