| Dwarf sheet spiders Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Female Hahnia lobata | |
 | |
| Scotospilus ampullarius | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Hahniidae Bertkau, 1878 |
| Diversity | |
| 29 genera, 244 species | |
 | |
| blue: reported countries (WSC) green: observation hotspots (iNaturalist) | |
Dwarf sheet spiders (Hahniidae) is a family of araneomorph spiders, first described by Philipp Bertkau in 1878. [1]
Hahniidae are six or eight-eyed entelegyne ecribellate spiders, with bodies about 1-5 mm long. [2] They build extremely delicate webs in the form of a sheet that does not lead to a retreat. [3] These webs are found in leaf litter, mosses, or trees. [2] The silk used in these webs is so fine that they are difficult to spot unless they are coated with dew. They are characterized by the arrangement of their six spinnerets in a transverse row. The last segment of the outer spinnerets is quite long and stands out above all the others. [3]
Hahniidae greatly favor locations near water or near moss, and are often found in leaf litter and detritus or on the leaves of shrubs and trees. [3]
Hahniidae are a worldwide family. The genera of the Northern Hemisphere and Africa tend to differ in their genital structures from those of the Southern Hemisphere. Very few species have been described from southeast Asia, although quite a number seem to be yet undescribed. [3]
The family is named after the type genus Hahnia , which is dedicated to German zoologist Carl Wilhelm Hahn. [1]
As of October 2025 [update] , this family includes 29 genera and 244 species: [4]
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.