Atracidae is a family of mygalomorph spiders, commonly known as Australian funnel-web spiders or atracids. It has been included as a subfamily of the Hexathelidae, but is now recognized as a separate family. All members of the family are native to Australia. Atracidae consists of three genera: Atrax, Hadronyche, and Illawarra, comprising 35 species. Some members of the family produce venom that is dangerous to humans, and bites by spiders of six of the species have caused severe injuries to victims. The bites of the Sydney funnel-web spider and northern tree-dwelling funnel-web spider are potentially deadly, but no fatalities have occurred since the introduction of modern first-aid techniques and antivenom.
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.
Tube-dwelling spiders (Segestriidae) is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1893. It consists of five genera, two large and widespread, Segestria and Ariadna, and three smaller genera, Citharoceps,Gippsicola and Indoseges. They are haplogyne spiders, related to the Dysderidae and placed in clade or superfamily Dysderoidea.
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.
Miturgidae is a family of araneomorph spiders that includes nearly 170 species in 29 genera worldwide. First described by Eugène Simon in 1886, it has been substantially revised, including of previous family "Zoridae" as subfamily "Zorinae" and excluding the family "Xenoctenidae". Several genera have also been removed, such as the large genus Cheiracanthium, which was transferred to the Cheiracanthiidae.
Ground spiders comprise Gnaphosidae, the seventh largest spider family with nearly 2,000 described species in over 100 genera distributed worldwide. There are 105 species known to central Europe, and common genera include Gnaphosa, Drassodes, Micaria, Cesonia, Zelotes and many others. They are closely related to Clubionidae. At present, no ground spiders are known to be seriously venomous to humans.
Austracantha is a genus of spider with a single species, Austracantha minax, commonly known as the jewel spider or the Christmas spider. It is a member of the family Araneidae and is endemic to Australia. They are relatively small spiders, reaching a maximum total body length of only around 12 mm (0.47 in) for females, and 5 mm (0.20 in) for males. Their abdomen has six distinctive projections ("spines") that makes them easy to identify. They are predominantly a shiny black, with variable white, yellow, and orange patterns. Melanistic forms also occur during autumn. They are facultatively gregarious, and can be found in large aggregations of overlapping orb webs. They feed on small flying insects that get entangled in their webs. They are harmless to humans, though the webs can be a nuisance for bushwalkers. They are most abundant during the summer months.
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, 2019, the family Amaurobiidae includes about 275 species in 49 genera.
Hadronyche is a genus of venomous Australian funnel-web spiders that was first described by L. Koch in 1873. Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it was moved to the Hexathelidae in 1980, then to the Atracidae in 2018.
Idiopidae, also known as armored trapdoor spiders, is a family of mygalomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1889. They have a large body similar to tarantulas.
Migidae, also known as tree trapdoor spiders, is a family of spiders with about 100 species in eleven genera. They are small to large spiders with little to no hair and build burrows with a trapdoor. Some species live in tree fern stems. They have a Gondwanan distribution, found almost exclusively on the Southern Hemisphere, occurring in South America, Africa, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.
Idiosoma is a genus of Australian armored trapdoor spiders that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871. Originally placed with the Ctenizidae, it was moved to the armored trapdoor spiders in 1985. The name is derived from the Greek ἴδιος, meaning "individual, unique", and σῶμα, meaning "body", referring to the distinctive structure of the abdomen.
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. They are darkly colored, usually with a lighter colored pattern on the abdomen. The most well-known species is B. insignis, also known as the "black house spider" or "black window spider".
Neoscona, known as spotted orb-weavers and barn spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders (Araneidae) first described by Eugène Simon in 1895 to separate these from other araneids in the now obsolete genus Epeira. The name Neoscona was derived from the Greek νέω, meaning "spin", and σχοῐνος, meaning "reed" They have a mostly pantropical distribution and one species, Neoscona adianta, has a palearctic distribution. As of April 2019 there are eight species that can be found in the United States and Canada:
The spider genus Aname is endemic to Australia, with one species found only on Tasmania. It contains the black wishbone spider, A. atra.
Stanwellia is a genus of South Pacific mygalomorph spiders in the family Pycnothelidae. It was first described by W. J. Rainbow & R. H. Pulleine in 1918. Originally placed with the curtain-web spiders, it was transferred to the funnel-web trapdoor spiders in 1985, then to the Pycnothelidae in 2020. It is a senior synonym of Aparua.
Cantuaria is a genus of South Pacific armored trapdoor spiders that was first described by Henry Roughton Hogg in 1902. From 1985 to 2006 it was merged with former genus Misgolas, now Arbanitis.
Selenotholus is a monotypic genus of tarantulas containing the single species, Selenotholus foelschei. It was first described by Henry Roughton Hogg in 1902, and is found in the Northern Territory. It is distinguished from Selenocosmia in by a thoracic fovea recurved, along with the first and fourth pairs of legs being of equal size.
Gippsicola is a genus of Australian tube dwelling spiders that was first described by Henry Roughton Hogg in 1900. It is no longer considered a junior synonym of Segestria due to anatomical differences in the pedipalps of males and the receptaculum in females.
Exopalystes is a monotypic genus of Papuan huntsman spiders containing the single species, Exopalystes pulchellus. It was first described by Henry Roughton Hogg in 1914, and is found in Papua New Guinea.
