"Some spiders, like the <em>Ctenizae</em>, close the mouth of their subterranean resdence with a most ingeniously-constructed trap-door, which the inhabitant closes with the utmost pertinacity when any attempt is made to invade the privacy of his domicile. Hence these, of which several species are found in the south of Europe and on the shores of the Mediterranean, are generally known as <em>Trap-door spiders</em>." &mdash; Goodrich, 1859

Garden-spider and trap-door spider

"Some spiders, like the Ctenizae, close the mouth of their subterranean resdence with a most…