Tidarren is a genus of spiders. The males are much smaller than females.

The males of this genus amputate one of their palps before maturation and enter their adult life with one palp only, probably to increase mobility, because they are really large compared to their tiny size.

In the Yemeni species Tidarren argo, the remaining palp is then torn off by the female. Spider males use their palp to transfer semen into the femal. The separated palp remains attached to the female's epigynum for about four hours and apparently continues to function independently. In the meantime the female feeds on the palpless male.

Distribution

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Tidarren species occur in Africa, and in Middle and South America.

Species

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Tidarren Chamberlin & Ivie, 1934

• Tidarren argo Knoflach & van Harten, 2001 (Yemen)
• Tidarren chevalieri (Berland, 1936) (Canary Is., Cape Verde Is.)
• Tidarren cuneolatum (Tullgren, 1910) (Central, East Africa, Yemen)
• Tidarren haemorrhoidale (Bertkau, 1880) (USA to Argentina)
• Tidarren levii Schmidt, 1957 (Congo)
• Tidarren mixtum (O. P.-Cambridge, 1896) (Mexico to Costa Rica)
• Tidarren sisyphoides (Walckenaer, 1842) (USA to Colombia, West Indies)

References

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• Journal of Zoology (2001), 254:449-459 Cambridge University Press''

Theridiidae