Cyclocosmia ricketti (Chinese: 里氏盤腹蛛; pinyin: Lǐ shì pán fù zhū), commonly known as the Chinese hourglass spider (which generally refers to its genus), is a species of trapdoor spider of the genus Cyclocosmia, which refers specifically to mygalomorphus animals. Cyclocosmia ricketti is native to China and it was first described (under its scientific name) in 1901 by Mary Agard Pocock. They are characterized by their truncated abdomen and the rigid disk at the bottom with a pattern.
| Cyclocosmia ricketti | |
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| A habitat B–D habitus of female (XUC-2013-013) E abdomen, lateral view F posterior portion of opisthosoma, ventral view, showing spinnerets G female genitalia (XUC-2013-013), dorsal view H female genitalia (tianzishan-2016), dorsal view I showing opisthosomal disc in plugging position (XUC-2013-013) J–L abdomen, caudal view (J XUC-2013-013 K Tianzishan-2016 L C-2016-001). Scale bars 0.5 mm. | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Mygalomorphae |
| Family: | Halonoproctidae |
| Genus: | Cyclocosmia |
| Species: | C. ricketti
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| Binomial name | |
| Cyclocosmia ricketti | |
Names
editThe species was first identified in 1901 by the South African scientist Mary Agard Pocock and was named Halonoproctus ricketti in honour of Charles Boughey Rickett.[3][4] It was reclassified as Cyclocosmia ricketti in the year 1903.[5]
In China Cyclocosmia ricketti is known under a number of different names including the "Money Trapdoor Spider" (traditional Chinese: 金錢活板門蛛; simplified Chinese: 金钱活板门蛛; pinyin: Jīnqián huó bǎn mén zhū), "Money Living-Door Spider" (traditional Chinese: 金錢活門蛛; simplified Chinese: 金钱活门蛛; pinyin: Jīnqián huómén zhū), and the "Severed Abdomen Spider" (Chinese: 截腹蛛; pinyin: Jié fù zhū).[6][4][7] In English it is commonly known as the "Chinese hourglass spider" (alongside other members of its genus).
Description
editCyclocosmia ricketti has a very distinctive plate or disk on its abdomen which according to some people resembles an ancient coin, a seal, or a grinding disc.[6] Because its plate resembles a coin it is commonly referred to in Chinese media as the "Money Trapdoor Spider".[6] The male Cyclocosmia ricketti are about 20.5 millimeters in length while the females of the species tend to be slightly bigger at around 25.83 to 30.0 millimeters in length.[6][8][9] The largest known specimens of Cyclocosmia ricketti can exceed 3 centimeters.[6] The disk located on its abdomen typically has a radius of around 1.6 centimeters.[6]
According to Mr. Zhao Li, Director and Senior Biological Engineer of the Insect Museum of West China in Chengdu, Sichuan, Cyclocosmia ricketti is a nocturnal animal.[6] The scarcity of this arachnid can be explained by its way of habitation.[10]
Cyclocosmia ricketti, like many other trapdoor spiders, dig burrows which are closed off by hatches in the ground instead of making webs (as they are not good at spinning silk) to catch their prey.[6] They line their burrows with silk threads and mud. They use their disk to plug the opening of the burrow.[6] When a small insect would step on its disk (sometimes referred to as a "copper coin"), Cyclocosmia ricketti will then purportedly shrink its abdomen to allow its prey to fall further into its burrow to be devoured.[6] The coin-shaped disk makes it difficult for its prey to escape from its grasp.[6] Cyclocosmia ricketti doesn't always use this method to hunt, as when its confronted with a non-threatening insect, Cyclocosmia ricketti will get out of its burrow and then directly grab it to eat it.[6] Cyclocosmia ricketti can also use the coin-shaped disk on its abdomen to protect itself from enemies by blocking the entrance to its burrow with it, and using it as a shield, a phenomenon called phragmosis.[6][7]
Possible mentions in ancient Chinese sources
editAccording to the Director and Senior Biological Engineer of the Insect Museum of West China (traditional Chinese: 華希昆蟲博物館; simplified Chinese: 华希昆虫博物馆; pinyin: Huá xī kūnchóng bówùguǎn) in Chengdu, Sichuan Mr. Zhao Li (traditional Chinese: 趙力; simplified Chinese: 赵力; pinyin: Zhào Lì) Cyclocosmia ricketti fits the description of a type of arachnid that was mentioned in the Erya[10] as well as the Bencao Shiyi (traditional Chinese: 本草拾遺; simplified Chinese: 本草拾遗; pinyin: Běncǎo shíyí, "Supplement to the Materia Medica").[6][11]
"The diedang (螲蟷 a species of spider living in underground burrows) is found everywhere……it resembles a spider….a hole in the ground is the nest and on top of the hole is a cover.” The diedang can be used to treat “boils, gangrene and other sores, sarcoma (malignant tumor)."
- Excerpt from the Bencao Shiyi, dated to the year 739 CE written Tang dynasty pharmacologist Chen Cangqi (traditional Chinese: 陳藏器; simplified Chinese: 陈藏器; pinyin: Chén Cángqì), translated into English by Gary Ashkenazy (加里·阿什凱納齊) from the Primal Trek – a journey through Chinese culture website.[6]
The bite of Cyclocosmia ricketti is of low risk and considered to be non toxic to humans.[12] Despite the low toxicity, their bites are known to be painful.[12]
Distribution
editCyclocosmia ricketti are found in the Chinese provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang, and Sichuan.[6][13] They are primarily found living in caves.[13][14] The farthest north they are known to have been found is Sichuan, where in 2016, according to the South China Morning Post, a farmer was working in his garden in Pujiang County, Sichuan province when he thought he found a valuable ancient seal, but then when he saw it move realised it was actually an arachnid, this is notable as it was previously believed that Cyclocosmia ricketti were not able to survive in places where the temperature could drop below 13 degrees Celsius.[6][11] Winters in the province of Sichuan are known to get even colder.[6][10]
Cyclocosmia ricketti is a very rare species and between the years 2000 and 2016 only six such spiders have been spotted in China.[13]
As pets
editBecause of the rarity of Cyclocosmia ricketti they are expensive pets.[6][7] On the pet market they are often known as "Money Trapdoor spiders" and are bred in the Southeast Asian country of Thailand.[6]
In 2021 a Cyclocosmia ricketti were selling for $3,860 (or about 25,000 yuan).[6] Which is more than double than in 2016, when they were selling for as much as 12,000 RMB online.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Cyclocosmia ricketti (Pocock, 1901)". The World Spider Catalog (WSC). 18 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ "Cyclocosmia ricketti (Taxonomy ID: 1649352)". The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ Pocock, 1901 : On some new trap-door spiders from China. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, vol. 1901, No. 1, p. 207-215 (texte intégral).
- ^ a b 中国科学院动物研究所. "里氏盘腹蛛". 《中国动物物种编目数据库》 (in Chinese (China)). 中国科学院微生物研究所. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ^ Simon, E (1903). Histoire naturelle des araignées. p. 887, f. 1044-1047. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51973.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Chinese Villager Unearths 'Old Coin' While Digging Ancestral Grave". Gary Ashkenazy / גארי אשכנזי (Primaltrek – a journey through Chinese culture). 14 January 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- ^ a b c "農夫以為挖到「古幣」……拉出後竟嚇到丟掉" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 自由時報. 2016-10-16. Retrieved 2016-12-25.
- ^ Zhu, Zhang & Zhang, 2006 : Rare spiders of the genus Cyclocosmia (Arachnida: Araneae: Ctenizidae) from tropical and subtropical China. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, vol. 54, No. 1, p. 119-124 (texte intégral Archived 2007-08-11 at the Wayback Machine).
- ^ Schwendinger, 2005 : Two new Cyclocosmia (Araneae: Ctenizidae) from Thailand. Revue suisse de Zoologie, vol. 112, No. 1, p. 225-252 (texte intégral Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine).
- ^ a b c Cerise (7 September 2019). "Farmer Discovers Extremely Rare "Alien-Like" Spider On His Plantation. - In China, one farmer got the surprise of a lifetime when he came across a rare type of spider which only been sighted six times in decades". Gentside. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ a b Li Jing (21 November 2016). "Chinese villager finds 'cultural seal' ... that turns out to be rare spider first recorded 1,000 years ago. - Arachnid known as the Chinese hourglass trapdoor". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Fact Check-Cyclocosmia spiders are not poisonous to humans". Reuters.com. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
- ^ a b c d Sun Wenyu People's Daily Online (Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party) (22 November 2016). "Rare spider discovered by farmer in Sichuan". China.org.cn. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ Xu, Xu, Li, Pham & Li, 2017 : Trapdoor spiders of the genus Cyclocosmia Ausserer, 1871 from China and Vietnam (Araneae, Ctenizidae). ZooKeys, No. 643, p. 75-85 (texte intégral).
