The family Dipluridae, known as curtain-web spiders are a group of spiders in the infraorder Mygalomorphae, that have two pairs of booklungs, and chelicerae (fangs) that move up and down in a stabbing motion. A number of genera, including that of the Sydney funnel-web spider (Atrax), used to be classified in this family but have now been moved to Hexathelidae.
The Mesothelae are a suborder of spiders that includes a single living (extant) family, Liphistiidae, and a number of extinct families. This suborder is thought to form the sister group to all other living spiders, and to retain ancestral characters, such as a segmented abdomen with spinnerets in the middle and two pairs of book lungs. Members of Liphistiidae are medium to large spiders with eight eyes grouped on a tubercle. They are found only in China, Japan, and southeast Asia.
The spider family Liphistiidae, recognized by Tamerlan Thorell in 1869, comprises 8 genera and about 100 species of medium-sized spiders from Southeast Asia, China, and Japan. They are among the most basal living spiders, belonging to the suborder Mesothelae. In Japan, the Kimura spider is well known.
Theridiidae, also known as the tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders and comb-footed spiders, is a large family of araneomorph spiders first described by Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1833. This diverse, globally distributed family includes over 3,000 species in 124 genera, and is the most common arthropod found in human dwellings throughout the world.
Scaffold web spiders (Nesticidae) is a family of araneomorph spiders closely allied with tangle web spiders. Like the "Theridiidae", these spiders have a comb of serrated bristles on the hind tarsi that are used to pull silk bands from the spinnerets. It contains 16 genera and about 300 species, many of which are associated with caves or overhangs. The genus Nesticus is the type for the family and is found throughout the world. The related Eidmannella has speciated considerably in Texas caves and includes some extremely localized species that are considered threatened. One species, Eidmannella pallida, is found in caves and under overhangs, but also in agricultural fields and other habitats away from such restricted areas. The genus Carpathonesticus is found in central Eurasia.
Dictynidae is a family of cribellate, hackled band-producing spiders first described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1871. Most build irregular webs on or near the ground, creating a tangle of silken fibers among several branches or stems of one plant.
Pimoidae is a small family of araneomorph spiders first described by J. Wunderlich in 1986. It contains 37 species in four genera and is monophyletic. It is closely related to the Linyphiidae, and is sometimes used as a synonym for that family.
Nigma is a genus of cribellate araneomorph spiders in the family Dictynidae, and was first described by Pekka T. Lehtinen in 1967. They have a wide distribution, including Eurasia, North America, and Northern Africa. N. walckenaeri is one of the biggest members of the Dictynidae, growing up to 5 millimetres (0.20 in) long. They are translucent green and sometimes have red or black markings on the abdomen.
Mongolarachne is an extinct genus of spiders placed in the monogeneric family Mongolarachnidae. The genus contains only one species, Mongolarachne jurassica, described in 2013, which is presently the largest fossilized spider on record. The type species was originally described as Nephila jurassica and placed in the living genus Nephila which contains the golden silk orb-weavers.
Altella is a genus of cribellate araneomorph spiders in the family Dictynidae, and was first described by Eugène Simon in 1884.
Brommella is a genus of cribellate araneomorph spiders in the family Dictynidae, and was first described by Albert Tullgren in 1948.
Uraraneida is an extinct order of arachnids, known from fossils of Middle Devonian, Permian and possibly Cretaceous age. Two genera of fossils have been definitively placed in this order: Attercopus from the Devonian of United States and Permarachne from the Permian of Russia. In 2018, a third genus Chimerarachne, from the Cretaceous of Myanmar was proposed to belong to this group, but this placement is disputed. When the first fossils were found, they were identified as spiders, but now constitute the Uraraneida, a separate but closely related group.
Burmesarchaea is a diverse extinct genus of spiders, placed in the family Archaeidae. The type species Burmesarchaea grimaldii was first described in 2003 and least 13 more species have been assigned to the genus. The genus has been exclusively found in Cretaceous Burmese amber, which is dated to 99 million years ago.
Penangodyna is a monotypic genus of Southeast Asian cribellate araneomorph spiders in the family Dictynidae containing the single species, Penangodyna tibialis. It was first described by J. Wunderlich in 1995, and has only been found in Malaysia.
Telemofila is a genus of long-legged cave spiders that was first described by J. Wunderlich in 1995. As of September 2019 it contains two species, found on Sumatra and New Caledonia: T. pecki and T. samosirensis.
Erigophantes is a monotypic genus of Indonesian dwarf spiders containing the single species, Erigophantes borneoensis. It was first described by J. Wunderlich in 1995, and has only been found on Borneo.
Avicularioidea is a clade of mygalomorph spiders, one of the two main clades into which mygalomorphs are divided. It has been treated at the rank of superfamily.
Priscaleclercera is a genus of extinct araneomorph spiders in the family Psilodercidae, containing six species. The genus was first described by Jorge Wunderlich in 2017, and has only been found in Burmese amber.
Burmese amber is fossil resin dating to the early Late Cretaceous Cenomanian age recovered from deposits in the Hukawng Valley of northern Myanmar. It is known for being one of the most diverse Cretaceous age amber paleobiotas, containing rich arthropod fossils, along with uncommon vertebrate fossils and even rare marine inclusions. A mostly complete list of all taxa described up until 2018 can be found in Ross 2018; its supplement Ross 2019b covers most of 2019.
Fossilcalcaridae is an extinct Mygalomorphae spider family in the clade Avicularioidea containing the single species Fossilcalcar praeteritus. The family genus and species were described in 2015 from a male fossil entombed in Cretaceous age Burmese amber.
