Huntsman spiders, members of the family Sparassidae, are known by this name because of their speed and mode of hunting. They are also called giant crab spiders because of their size and appearance. Larger species sometimes are referred to as wood spiders, because of their preference for woody places. In southern Africa the genus Palystes are known as rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders. Commonly, they are confused with baboon spiders from the Mygalomorphae infraorder, which are not closely related.
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.
Gasteracantha is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first named by Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1833. Species of the genus are known as spiny-backed orb-weavers, spiny orb-weavers, or spiny spiders. The females of most species are brightly colored with six prominent spines on their broad, hardened, shell-like abdomens. The name Gasteracantha is derived from the Greek gaster (γαστήρ), meaning "belly, abdomen", and akantha (άκανθα), meaning "thorn, spine". Spiny-backed orb-weavers are sometimes colloquially called "crab spiders" because of their shape, but they are not closely related to the true crab spiders. Other colloquial names for certain species include thorn spider, star spider, kite spider, or jewel spider.
Opisthoncus is a genus of South Pacific jumping spiders that was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1880. There are still many Australian species that have not yet been described.
Zenodorus is a genus of the jumping spiders distributed from the Moluccas to Australia, including several islands of the Pacific. It was once considered a junior synonym of Omoedus, but this was later rejected by Jerzy Prószyński in 2017. At least one species, Z. orbiculatus, specializes on hunting ants.
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".
Cyrtophora, the tent-web spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1895. Although they are in the "orb weaver" family, they do not build orb webs. Their tent-like, highly complex non-sticky web is sometimes considered a precursor of the simplified orb web. These webs are aligned horizontally, with a network of supporting threads above them. These spiders often live in colonies. Females have a body length of mostly about 10 millimetres (0.39 in) long. Some members, including Cyrtophora cicatrosa, exhibit the ability to change colour rapidly.
Desis is a genus of intertidal spiders that was first described by Charles Athanase Walckenaer in 1837. Species of the genus are found in Australasia, the Pacific, Japan, eastern and southern Africa, and India. They are marine spiders, living in the intertidal zone and only emerging at the ebb tide to hunt for invertebrates including shrimp. When submerged during high tides, they stay in an air chamber sealed with silk, and breathe its air.
Arkyidae, also known as triangular spiders, is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1872 as a subfamily of Araneidae, and later elevated to a full family in 2017.
Wandella is a genus of Australian crevice weavers that was first described by Michael R. Gray in 1994.
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.
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.
Nanometa is a genus of long-jawed orb-weavers containing the fifteen species. It was erected by Eugène Louis Simon based on the type specimen of Nanometa gentilis found in 1908. It is included in a clade of its own defined by nine morphological synapomorphies, along with the genus Orsinome.
Beregama is a genus of South Pacific huntsman spiders that was first described by D. B. Hirst in 1990.
Typostola is a genus of South Pacific huntsman spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1897.
Stephanopis is a genus of crab spiders first described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1869. It was erected for five then newly described species, including S. altifrons, from Australia. Stephanopis was characterized by the high cephalic region with unequally sized anterior eyes disposed in a strongly recurved row, opisthosoma ending in several spiniform projections and dorsoventrally depressed habitus. According to Pickard-Cambridge, the single specimen used for the description of S. altifrons was dry-pinned. Therefore the specimen could not be properly examined, so it was not possible to determine if the specimen was adult. Moreover, he states his own sketch of the spider as “hasty” or "dull". This may explain why the somatic characters were inadequately described, genitalic features were not mentioned at all, and the illustrations were not detailed enough, making the species unidentifiable.
Hortophora is a genus of South Pacific orb-weaver spiders first described by V. W. Framenau, R. L. C. Baptista and F. S. M. Oliveira in 2021.
