Ancient origins of the Mediterranean trap-door spiders of the family Ctenizidae (Araneae, Mygalomorphae).

Highlights: [•] Our data does not support the monophyly of the family Ctenizidae. [•] The family has an ancient origin and long history in the Mediterranean region. [•] We demonstrate the vicariant origin of the amphiatlantic distribution of Ummidia. [•] The dynamic geology of the Mediterranean drove diversification of local genera. [•] Deep divergences support Cteniza and Cyrtocarenum as independent lineages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]