Corinnidae is a family of araneomorph spiders, sometimes called corinnid sac spiders. The family, like other "clubionoid" families, has a confusing taxonomic history. Once it was a part of the large catch-all taxon Clubionidae, now very much smaller. The original members of the family are apparently similar only in that they have eight eyes arranged in two rows, conical anterior spinnerets that touch and are generally wandering predators that build silken retreats, or sacs, usually on plant terminals, between leaves, under bark or under rocks.
Gallieniellidae is a family of spiders first described by J. Millot in 1947. It was originally thought to be endemic to Madagascar until species were also found in southern Kenya, northeastern Argentina, and Australia. Drassodella was transferred from the family Gnaphosidae in 1990. They are suspected to be specialized in ant-preying.
Penestomus is a genus of African araneomorph spiders in the family Penestomidae, and was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1902. The genus was formerly included in the family Eresidae, but was elevated to its own family in 2010. It is now considered closer to Zodariidae.
Trachelidae is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1897 as a subfamily called "Tracheleae". The Trachelidae family, also known as "ground sac spiders", is within the group of spiders known as the RTA clade, which includes mostly wandering spiders that do not use webs. Spiders in the Trachelidae family are characterized as being 3-10mm long and having a red cephalothorax and a yellow/tan abdomen. They are commonly found indoors. It was placed in the family Clubionidae, then later in Corinnidae when the Clubionidae were split up. The first study that suggested Trachelidae should be considered its own family was done by Deeleman-reinhold in 2001 as part of an analysis of RTA Clade spiders. An analysis by Martín J. Ramírez in 2014 suggested that it was not closely related to other members of the Corinnidae, and was better treated as a separate family. It was then placed in the CTC clade of spiders, or the Claw Tuft Clasper clade, which is a group of spiders that have two tarsal claws with tufts of hair.
Austrophaea is a monotypic genus of African corinnid sac spiders containing the single species, Austrophaea zebra. It was first described by R. F. Lawrence in 1952, and has only been found in South Africa.
Copuetta is a genus of African corinnid sac spiders first described by C. R. Haddad in 2013.
Drassodella is a genus of African araneomorph spiders in the family Gallieniellidae, and was first described by John Hewitt in 1916. Originally placed with the ground spiders, it was moved to the Gallieniellidae in 1990.
Lepthercus is a genus of South African mygalomorph spiders in the family Entypesidae. It was first described by William Frederick Purcell in 1902. Originally placed with the Ctenizidae, it was transferred to the Nemesiidae in 1985, then to the Entypesidae in 2020.
Wanda Wesołowska is a Polish zoologist known for her work with jumping spiders. She has described more species of jumping spider than any contemporary writer, and is second only to Eugène Simon in the history of arachnology. Originally a student of ornithology, she developed an interest in jumping spiders while still a student at the Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities in the 1970s.
Hasarinella distincta is a species of jumping spider in the genus Hasarinella that lives in South Africa. The species was first described in 2013 by Charles R. Haddad and Wanda Wesołowska. With a dark brown oval cephalothorax] that is between 3.4 and 3.8 mm long and a brown ovoid abdomen that has a length between 3.7 and 4.5 mm. The male has a marking of three white streaks, one in the middle and two along the edges, on the carapace. The female does not. It is the copulatory organs that enable the species to be differentiated from the related Hasarinella berlandi, particularly the wider seminal ducts in the female and the oval palpal bulb in the male. It lives in both grassland and woodland.
Afroceto is a genus of African araneomorph spiders in the family Trachelidae, first described by R. Lyle & C. R. Haddad in 2010.
Fuchiba is a genus of African araneomorph spiders in the family Trachelidae, first described by C. R. Haddad & R. Lyle in 2008.
Jocquestus is a genus of African araneomorph spiders in the family Trachelidae, first described by R. Lyle & C. R. Haddad in 2018.
Planochelas is a genus of African araneomorph spiders in the family Trachelidae, first described by R. Lyle & C. R. Haddad in 2009. As of April 2019 it contains only three species from Ghana, Uganda, and Ivory Coast.
Poachelas is a genus of African araneomorph spiders in the family Trachelidae, first described by C. R. Haddad & R. Lyle in 2008.
Thysanina is a genus of African araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1910. Originally placed with the Liocranidae, it was moved to the Corinnidae in 2000, and to the Trachelidae in 2014.
Latrodectus umbukwane, commonly known as the Phinda button spider, is a species of the spider in the genus Latrodectus described in 2019, named after the Phinda Private Game Reserve where research specimens were collected. As of 2019, it is known only from critically endangered sand forest environments in northern Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is believed to be the largest member of its genus.
Diphya wesolowskae is a species of long-jawed orb weaver in the genus Diphya that lives in South Africa. First described in 2020 by Mikhail Omelko, Yuri Marusik and Robin Lyle, the spider is small, with a typical length between 2.8 and 3.17 mm. The female is larger than the male. It has a brown to dark brown and patternless carapace, which distinguishes the species from the more common Diphya simoni. The male has an abdomen that is also brown to dark brown and has a pattern of two dark spots, although some examples have more complex, but indistinct, patterns of spots and stripes. The female has a light brown abdomen marked with large spots and stripes. The copulatory organs are distinctive to the species. The female has a epigyne that lacks pockets but has a thicker septal stem than Diphya foordi, and the male has a very long, thin projection that extends from the palpal bulb beyond the cymbium and a very short embolus.
