Cataleptoneta edentula Denis, 1955
The leptonetidae are a small family of
minute, long-legged, six-eyed spiders found mostly in caves in southern North America, the Far East and the Mediterranean basin. They make space-webs, similarly to the distantly related cellar spiders (pholcidae).
Cataleptoneta edentula is a species known from two caves, in Lebanon and Israel. It is the only leptonetid species known from the Levant. Other species of Cataleptoneta are found in Asia Minor are south-eastern Europe.
photo by: Shlomi Aharon
This species is very similar to other leptonetids, and is identified by the genital characters alone. In Israel Cataleptoneta edentula is known from the Etzba cave, in mount Karmel. It was found at the entrance, which might imply that this species is not a true troglobite, despite being, to date, only found in caves.
Map of known distribution
Accession in the World Spider Catalog:
Articles about Cataleptoneta edentula:
Denis, J. (1955). Araignées. In: Mission Henri Coiffait au Liban (1951). Archives de Zoologie Expérimentale et Générale 91(Biospeol. 75), 437-454.
Gavish-Regev, E., Aharon, S., Armiach, I & Lubin, Y. D. (2016). Cave survey yields a new spider family record for Israel. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 51: 39-42.
Taxonomic Classification
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Leptonetidae
Genus: Cataleptoneta
Species: Cataleptoneta edentula
Authors: Denis, 1955
Ecological Classification
Category: Troglobite
Cave zone: Entrance
Microhabitat: Ceiling, walls