Deinopis

Ogre-faced spiders
Deinopis longipes
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Deinopidae
Genus: Deinopis
MacLeay, 1839[1]
Type species
D. lamia
MacLeay, 1839
Species

20, see text

Deinopis Subrufa

Deinopis, also known as net-casting spiders, gladiator spiders and ogre-faced spiders,[2] is a genus of net-casting spiders that was first described by W. S. MacLeay in 1839.[3] Its distribution is widely tropical and subtropical. They catch their prey using a specially spun "net".

Etymology

The name is derived from the Greek δεινός (deinos), meaning "fearful", and opis, meaning "appearance", referring to their ogre-like faces. The spelling "Dinopis" is also found, but is regarded as an "unjustified emendation".[1]

Net-casting

Spiders in the genus Deinopis catch their prey in an unusual fashion. They first spin a small upright rectangular cribellate web. This is then detached from its supporting threads and held horizontally above the ground by the spider's long front two pairs of legs while the spider hangs almost vertically. Passing prey is then captured by dropping the "net" over it.[2]

Auditory Senses

Deinopis Net casting

Overall spiders including the genus Deinopis have the ability to "hear", or sense pray with their legs using (Trichobothria). According to a study they found that Deinopis were able to respond to frequency's that ranged from 100Hz to 1000Hz. This covered mimicking frequency's that were similar to prey insects to the predator wing flap of a bat. From these findings it was concluded that Deinopis hear with the change of pressure made by passing sounds.[4]

Foraging

Deinopis spiders are nocturnal predators, relying on vibrational senses through their (mechanoreception) and fine hair like antenna called (Trichobothria). Their enlarged eyes to find their prey. To capture prey, they use their webs to form a net-like structure which is able to capture both ground and flying prey. With ground prey they spot their prey from a range of 1 to 2 meters then launch themselves at the unsuspecting prey, but with flying prey their ability to locate it comes from the vibrations the flying prey gives off.[5]To aid further in netting prey, the spider places white fecal spots on the surface below the net and uses them for aiming.[6] Spiders also lack ears, but Deinopis species use hairs and receptors (slit sensillae) on their legs to distinguish sounds at a distance of up to 2 meters.[7][8]

Eyes

The two posterior median eyes are enlarged and forward-facing.[9] These eyes have a wide field of view and are able to gather available light more efficiently than the eyes of cats and owls, and are 2000 times more sensitive to light than human photoreceptors.[10] This is despite the fact that they lack a reflective layer (tapetum lucidum); instead, each night, a large area of light-sensitive membrane is manufactured within the eyes, and destroyed at dawn, with the membrane being converted into vesicles which are then lysed in the inter-rhabdomeral cytoplasm.[11]

Species

As of September 2025, this genus included twenty species:[1]

  • Deinopis amica Schiapelli & Gerschman, 1957 – Argentina, Uruguay
  • Deinopis armaticeps Mello-Leitão, 1925 – Brazil
  • Deinopis biaculeata Simon, 1906 – Brazil
  • Deinopis bituberculata Franganillo, 1930 – Cuba
  • Deinopis bucculenta Schenkel, 1953 – Venezuela
  • Deinopis cylindracea C. L. Koch, 1846 – Colombia
  • Deinopis diabolica Kraus, 1956 – El Salvador
  • Deinopis fastigata Simon, 1906 – Brazil
  • Deinopis granadensis Keyserling, 1879 – Colombia
  • Deinopis guasca Mello-Leitão, 1943 – Brazil
  • Deinopis guianensis Taczanowski, 1874 – French Guiana
  • Deinopis lamia MacLeay, 1839 – Cuba, Turks & Caicos, Puerto Rico (type species)
  • Deinopis longipes F.O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902 – Mexico, Panama
  • Deinopis pallida Mello-Leitão, 1939 – Brazil
  • Deinopis pardalis Simon, 1906 – Brazil
  • Deinopis plurituberculata Mello-Leitão, 1925 – Brazil
  • Deinopis rodophthalma Mello-Leitão, 1939 – Brazil
  • Deinopis seriata Simon, 1906 – Brazil
  • Deinopis spinosa Marx, 1889 – United States, Jamaica, St. Vincent, Venezuela
  • Deinopis tuboculata Franganillo, 1926 – Cuba

References

  1. ^ a b c "Genus Deinopis". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  2. ^ a b Leong, T.M. & Foo, S.K. (2009), "An encounter with the net-casting spider, Deinopis species in Singapore (Araneae: Deinopidae)" (PDF), Nature in Singapore, 2: 247–255, retrieved 2015-09-28
  3. ^ MacLeay, W. S. (1839). "On some new forms of Arachnida". Annals of Natural History. 2 (7): 1–2.
  4. ^ Lesser, Ellen (2021-01-04). "Ogre-faced spiders listen with their legs". Journal of Experimental Biology. 224 (1): Jeb235077 – via The Company of Biologists.
  5. ^ Goldstein, Lauren M.; Lietzenmayer, Laurel B.; Taylor, Lisa A. (2022-04-07). "Ogre-faced Spider, Net Casting Spider, Gladiator Spider Deinopis spinosa (Marx, 1889) (Arachnida: Araneae: Deinopidae): EENY-779/IN1356, 4/2022". EDIS. 2022 (2). doi:10.32473/edis-in1356-2022. ISSN 2576-0009.
  6. ^ "How spiders see the world". Australian Museum. 2015-10-30. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
  7. ^ "Ogre-Faced Spiders: These Spiders Can Hear – Even Though They Have No Ears". SciTechDaily. 2020-10-31. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  8. ^ "Ogre-faced spiders have great hearing—without ears". Animals. 2020-10-29. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  9. ^ Culver, Jordan. "Ogre-faced spiders don't need ears to 'hear' their prey, study finds. These large-eyed nocturnal predators snag food out of the air". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  10. ^ Chamberland, Lisa; Agnarsson, Ingi; Quayle, Iris L.; Ruddy, Tess; Starrett, James; Bond, Jason E. (2022). "Biogeography and eye size evolution of the ogre-faced spiders". Scientific Reports. 12 (1): 17769. Bibcode:2022NatSR..1217769C. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-22157-5. PMC 9588044. PMID 36273015.
  11. ^ Blest, A. D. (1978). "The rapid synthesis and destruction of photoreceptor membrane by a dinopid spider: A daily cycle". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences. 200 (1141): 463–483. Bibcode:1978RSPSB.200..463B. doi:10.1098/rspb.1978.0027. S2CID 85388527.
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