Desidae is a family of spiders, some of which are known as intertidal spiders. The family is named for the genus Desis, members of which live in a very unusual location — between the tides. The family has been reevaluated in recent years and now includes inland genera and species as well, such as Badumna and Phryganoporus. In 2017, the family Amphinectidae was merged into Desidae. The family Toxopidae has been separated off. Those intertidal spiders that are truly marine commonly live in barnacle shells, which they seal up with silk; this allows them to maintain an air bubble during high tide. They emerge at night to feed on various small arthropods that live in the intertidal zone.
Amaurobiidae is a family of three-clawed cribellate or ecribellate spiders found in crevices and hollows or under stones where they build retreats, and are often collected in pitfall traps. Unlidded burrows are sometimes quite obvious in crusty, loamy soil. They are difficult to distinguish from related spiders in other families, especially Agelenidae, Desidae and Amphinectidae. Their intra- and interfamilial relationships are contentious. According to the World Spider Catalog, 2023, the family Amaurobiidae includes 286 species in 50 genera.
Zoropsidae, also known as false wolf spiders for their physical similarity to wolf spiders, is a family of cribellate araneomorph spiders first described by Philipp Bertkau in 1882. They can be distinguished from wolf spiders by their two rows of eyes that are more equal in size than those of Lycosidae.
Cribellum literally means "little sieve", and in biology the term generally applies to anatomical structures in the form of tiny perforated plates.
Tetrablemmidae, sometimes called armored spiders, is a family of tropical araneomorph spiders first described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1873. It contains 126 described species in 29 genera from southeast Asia, with a few that occur in Africa and Central and South America. Pacullidae was incorporated into this family in 1981, but was later restored as a separate family in a 2016 phylogenetic study.
Nicodamidae is a family of araneomorph spiders with about thirty species in seven genera. They are small to medium-sized spiders found near the ground of eucalypt forest in small sheet webs. The species of this family are only present in Australia and Papua New Guinea. In most cases the cephalothorax and legs are uniformly red and the abdomen black, for which these species are sometimes called the "red and black spiders".
Stiphidiidae, also called sheetweb spiders, is a family of araneomorph spiders first described in 1917. Most species are medium size and speckled brown with long legs. All members of this family occur in New Zealand and Australia except for Asmea. They build a horizontal sheet-like web under rocks, hence the name "sheetweb spiders".
Phryganoporus is a genus of Australian intertidal spiders that was first described by Eugène Simon in 1908. Its five species only occur in Australia and Tasmania, with one species also occurring on Norfolk Island, south of New Caledonia. The name is derived from Greek phryganon and poros ("hole"), referring to the web that is often built on dry shrubs or low vegetation with a hole as an entrance.
Badumna is a genus of intertidal spiders that was first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1890. They are harmless spiders that can be found around human structures and buildings. The most well-known species is B. insignis, also known as the "black house spider" or "black window spider".
Forsterina is a genus of South Pacific intertidal spiders that was first described by Pekka T. Lehtinen in 1967.
Syrorisa is a monotypic genus of South Pacific intertidal spiders containing the single species, Syrorisa misella. It was first described by Eugène Simon in 1908, and has only been found on New Caledonia and Australia. Originally placed in the Amaurobiidae, it was moved to the Desidae in 1967.
Barahna is a genus of Australian intertidal spiders that was first described by V. T. Davies in 2003. The name is derived from baran-barahn, the Bundjalung word for "spider". Originally placed with the Stiphidiidae, it was moved to the intertidal spiders after the results of a 2017 genetic study.
Corasoides is a genus of South Pacific intertidal spiders that was first described by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1929. Originally placed with the Agelenidae, it was moved to the Stiphidiidae in 1973, and to the Desidae after a 2017 genetic study.
Couranga is a genus of Australian sheetweb spiders that was first described by M. R. Gray & H. M. Smith in 2008. As of September 2019 it contains two species, found in New South Wales and Queensland: C. diehappy and C. kioloa.
Ischalea is a genus of intertidal spiders that was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1872. As of September 2019 it contains three species, found in Mauritius, on Madagascar, and the Polynesian Islands: I. incerta, I. longiceps, and I. spinipes. Originally placed with the Pisauridae, it was moved to the Stiphidiidae in 1973, and to the Desidae after a 2017 genetic study.
Nanocambridgea is a monotypic genus of intertidal spiders containing the single species, Nanocambridgea gracilipes. It was first described by Raymond Robert Forster & C. L. Wilton in 1973, and is found on New Zealand. Originally placed with the Stiphidiidae, it was moved to the Desidae after a 2017 genetic study. A male described as N. grandis in 2000 was synonymized with Cambridgea reinga in 2011.
Nomindra is a genus of Australian ground spiders that was first described by Norman I. Platnick & Barbara Baehr in 2006. Originally placed with the long-spinneret ground spiders, it was transferred to the ground spiders in 2018.
Jamberoo is a genus of Australian sheetweb spiders that was first described by Michael R. Gray & H. M. Smith in 2008.
Baiami brockmani is a species of araneomorph spiders in the family Desidae.
