The Agelenidae are a large family of spiders in the suborder Araneomorphae. Well-known examples include the common "grass spiders" of the genus Agelenopsis. Nearly all Agelenidae are harmless to humans, but the bite of the hobo spider may be medically significant, and some evidence suggests it might cause necrotic lesions, but the matter remains subject to debate. The most widely accepted common name for members of the family is funnel weaver.
Linyphiidae, spiders commonly known as sheet weavers, or money spiders is a family of very small spiders comprising 4706 described species in 620 genera worldwide. This makes Linyphiidae the second largest family of spiders after the Salticidae. The family is poorly understood due to their small body size and wide distribution; new genera and species are still being discovered throughout the world. The newest such genus is Himalafurca from Nepal, formally described in April 2021 by Tanasevitch. Since it is so difficult to identify such tiny spiders, there are regular changes in taxonomy as species are combined or divided.
Aphonopelma is a genus of tarantulas native to the Americas. It includes nearly all the North American tarantula species north of Mexico and a considerable percentage of the tarantula species that range into Central America. Most are fairly large tarantulas with leg spans of 6 in (16 cm) or more. Like most New World tarantulas, all species of Aphonopelma have urticating hairs. Despite their fearsome appearance, these tarantulas are not harmful to humans and some species are popular in the pet trade. With about 90 species described so far, Aphonopelma comprises about 10% of the total number of described tarantula species. However, their taxonomy is poorly understood and species are difficult to tell apart, especially those that are brown or black without other pattern. Therefore, the actual number of species is unknown, with more species likely to be identified in the near future. In captivity, they are usually fed crickets; in the wild, they eat most insects, including crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches, mantises, and beetles.
Dictynidae is a family of cribellate, hackled band-producing spiders first described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1871. Most build irregular webs on or near the ground, creating a tangle of silken fibers among several branches or stems of one plant.
Ralph Vary Chamberlin was an American biologist, ethnographer, and historian from Salt Lake City, Utah. He was a faculty member of the University of Utah for over 25 years, where he helped establish the School of Medicine and served as its first dean, and later became head of the zoology department. He also taught at Brigham Young University and the University of Pennsylvania, and worked for over a decade at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, where he described species from around the world.
Habronattus is a genus in the family Salticidae. Most species are native to North America. They are commonly referred to as paradise spiders due to their colorful courtship ornaments and complex dances, similar to birds-of-paradise.
Hentzia is a genus of the spider family Salticidae subfamily Dendryphantinae. The genus is widespread in North America and northern South America but the center of biodiversity seems to be primarily in the Caribbean and surrounding areas, with the greatest species diversity occurring in Cuba, which has seven species. Some outlier species, such as Hentzia poenitens and Hentzia fimbriata are found in western North America. It appears to be closely related to the genus Anicius from which it differs primarily in certain anatomical details.
Nemesiidae, also known as funnel-web trapdoor spiders, is a family of mygalomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1889, and raised to family status in 1985. Before becoming its own family, it was considered part of "Dipluridae".
The Dendryphantina are a subtribe of jumping spiders that occur mainly in the New World. The subtribe was first defined by Anton Menge in 1879 as Dendryphantidae. Females of the subtribe generally show paired spots on the abdomen, and the males often have enlarged chelicerae. Females in this subtribe typically have S-shaped epigynal openings.
Melpomene is a genus of funnel weavers first described by O. Pickard-Cambridge in 1898. They range from southwestern U.S. to Panama and can grow up to 7 to 8.5 millimetres long. Roth and Brame noted that, with many undescribed species, the genus appears to be a catchall or "wastebasket taxon" for several unrelated species that may represent several genera.
Spirembolus is a genus of North American sheet weavers that was first described by Ralph Vary Chamberlin in 1920.
Ceratinopsis is a genus of dwarf spiders that was first described by James Henry Emerton in 1882.
Tarsonops is a genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Caponiidae, first described by Ralph Vary Chamberlin in 1924.
Nodocion is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by R. V. Chamberlin in 1922.
Hamataliwa is a genus of lynx spiders that was first described by Eugen von Keyserling in 1887.
Grammonota is a genus of dwarf spiders that was first described by James Henry Emerton in 1882.
Idionella is a genus of North American dwarf spiders that was first described by Nathan Banks in 1893.
Tivodrassus is a genus of Mexican long-spinneret ground spiders that was first described by Ralph Vary Chamberlin & Vaine Wilton Ivie in 1936. It was transferred to the ground spiders in 2018, but was returned to Prodidominae in 2022.
Ishania is a genus of Central American ant spiders first described in 1925 by Ralph Vary Chamberlin. Originally placed in Agelenidae, it was later moved to Zodariidae in 1965.
Tliltocatl epicureanus is a species of spider in the family Theraphosidae (tarantulas), found in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico.
