Lycosoidea
Sign in to saveLycosoidea is a clade or superfamily of araneomorph spiders. The traditional circumscription was based on a feature of the eyes. The tapetum is a reflective layer at the back of the eye, thought to increase sensitivity in low light levels. Lycosoids were then defined by having a "grate-shaped" tapetum. Research from the late 1990s onwards suggests that this feature has evolved more than once, possibly as many as five times, so that the original Lycosoidea is paraphyletic. Studies published in 2014 and 2015 suggest that a smaller group of families does form a clade.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Entelegynae
- Image
- Hogna helluo2.jpg
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- taxon rank
- superfamily
- taxon name
- Lycosoidea
- topic's main category
- Category:Lycosoidea
- Commons category
- Lycosidae
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Encyclopedic overview
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- Phylogeny
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Lycosoidea is a clade or superfamily of araneomorph spiders. The traditional circumscription was based on a feature of the eyes. The tapetum is a reflective layer at the back of the eye, thought to increase sensitivity in low light levels. Lycosoids were then defined by having a "grate-shaped" tapetum. Research from the late 1990s onwards suggests that this feature has evolved more than once, possibly as many as five times, so that the original Lycosoidea is paraphyletic. Studies published in 2014 and 2015 suggest that a smaller group of families does form a clade.
The reflective attributes of the tapeta vary significantly among lycosoid spiders.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Lycosoidea” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
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