Masoncus

Masoncus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Linyphiidae
Genus:	Masoncus Chamberlin, 1949[1]
Type species
M. arienus Chamberlin, 1949
Species
4, see text

Masoncus is a genus of North American dwarf spiders that was first described by Ralph Vary Chamberlin in 1949.^[2]

Species

As of May 2019^[update] it contains four species, found in Canada and the United States:^[1]

• Masoncus arienus Chamberlin, 1949 (type) – USA,
• Masoncus conspectus (Gertsch & Davis, 1936) – USA
• Masoncus dux Chamberlin, 1949 – Canada
• Masoncus pogonophilus Cushing, 1995 – USA. Known myrmecophilic association with Pogonomyrmex badius, this spider lives in the nest and feeds on springtails. ^[3]

See also

• List of Linyphiidae species (I–P)

References

1. "Gen. Masoncus Chamberlin, 1949". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. 2019. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
2. Chamberlin, R. V. (1949). "On some American spiders of the family Erigonidae". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 41 (4): 483–562. doi:10.1093/aesa/41.4.483.
3. Tschinkel, Walter R. (2021). Ant architecture : the wonder, beauty, and science of underground nests. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 37. ISBN 9780691179315.