Genus of spiders
Progradungula is a genus of Australian large-clawed spiders that was first described by Raymond Robert Forster and Michael R. Gray in 1979.[2] As of May 2024[update] it contains only three species: P. barringtonensis, P. carraiensis and P. otwayensis.[1]
The name is derived from Latin pro ("before"), and the genus name Gradungula, referring to the ancient ancestry of the genus. It is the first discovered web-building cribellate spider in a "primitive" araneomorph spider family and helped establish the idea that all araneomorph spiders evolved from cribellate ancestors.[3]
These spiders have an uncommon web-making technique and prey-capturing behaviour. A small (approximately 25 mm × 6 mm (0.98 in × 0.24 in)), tilting, ladder-like platform of cribellate capturing silk is supported by an overhead structure of threads linked to the rock walls and consists of two parallel stabilizing silk lines.
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