Deinopis (ogre-faced spiders)

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Ecdysozoa > Panarthropoda > Tritocerebra > Arthropoda > Arachnomorpha > Cheliceriformes > Chelicerata > Euchelicerata > Arachnida > Araneae > Araneomorpha > Family: Deinopidae

Cryptically coloured in greys and browns, Deinopis is recognizable by its enormous posterior median eyes and elongated 20mm long body. These eyes are much smaller in Menneus and Avellopsis.  These posterior median eyes are similar to the anterior median eyes of the salticids. However, instead of the visual resolution of the salticids telescopic eyes, the eyes of Deinopis are wide angled and adapted for low light. A pantropical genus it occurs in the subtropical north-east of South Africa.

Species indigenous to southern Africa

Text by Norman Larsen ©.