Cyclocosmia ricketti
Cyclocosmia ricketti, commonly known as the Chinese hourglass spider, is a species of trapdoor spider of the genus Cyclocosmia. Cyclocosmia ricketti is native to China and it was first described in 1901 by Mary Pocock. They are characterized by their truncated abdomen and the patterned rigid disk at the bottom.
Names
The species was first identified in 1901 by the South African scientist Mary Pocock and was named Halonoproctus ricketti in honour of Charles Boughey Rickett. It was reclassified as Cyclocosmia ricketti in 1903.In China, C. ricketti is known under a number of different names including the "Money Trapdoor Spider", "Money Living-Door Spider", and the "Severed Abdomen Spider". In English, it is commonly known as the "Chinese hourglass spider".
Description
Cyclocosmia ricketti has a distinctive plate or disk on its abdomen which resembles an ancient coin, a seal, or a grinding disc. The male Cyclocosmia ricketti are about 20.5 millimeters in length while the females of the species tend to be slightly larger at around 25.83 to 30.0 millimeters in length. The largest known specimens of Cyclocosmia ricketti can exceed 3 centimeters. The disk located on its abdomen typically has a radius of around 1.6 centimeters.According to Zhao Li, Director and Senior Biological Engineer of the Insect Museum of West China in Chengdu, Sichuan, Cyclocosmia ricketti is a nocturnal animal. The scarcity of this arachnid can be explained by its way of habitation.
Cyclocosmia ricketti, like many other trapdoor spiders, dig burrows which are closed off by hatches in the ground instead of making webs to catch their prey. They line their burrows with silk threads and mud. They use their disk to plug the opening of the burrow. When a small insect steps on its disk, C. ricketti will purportedly shrink its abdomen to allow its prey to fall further into its burrow to be devoured. The coin-shaped disk makes it difficult for its prey to escape from its grasp. C. ricketti does not always use this method to hunt, as when it is confronted with a non-threatening insect, it will exit from its burrow and then directly grab it to eat it. C. ricketti can also use the coin-shaped disk on its abdomen to protect itself from enemies by blocking the entrance to its burrow with it and using it as a shield, a phenomenon called phragmosis.
Possible mentions in ancient Chinese sources
According to the Director and Senior Biological Engineer of the Insect Museum of West China in Chengdu, Sichuan. Zhao Li Cyclocosmia ricketti fits the description of a type of arachnid that was mentioned in the Erya as well as the Bencao Shiyi.The bite of Cyclocosmia ricketti is low risk and considered to be non toxic to humans. Despite the low toxicity, their bites are known to be painful.
Distribution
Cyclocosmia ricketti are found in the Chinese provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang, and Sichuan. They are primarily found living in caves. The furthest north they are known to have been found is Sichuan. In 2016, a farmer was working in his garden in Pujiang County, Sichuan province when he thought he found a valuable ancient seal, but realized that it was actually a spider. It was previously believed that C. ricketti could not survive in temperatures below 13 degrees Celsius.Cyclocosmia ricketti is a very rare species and between the years 2000 and 2016, only six of them were spotted in China.
As pets
Due to the rarity of Cyclocosmia ricketti, they are expensive pets. On the pet market, they are often known as "Money Trapdoor spiders" and are bred in Thailand.In 2021, a Cyclocosmia ricketti sold for $3,860. This is more than double the amount in 2016, when they were selling for as much as 12,000 RMB online.