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.
Zodarion is a genus of ant-eating spiders from the Zodariidae family. Over 150 species from Eurasia and North Africa have been described as of May 2017.
Heliophanus is a genus of the spider family Salticidae. Most of the almost 170 described species occur in Africa, with many others found in the Palearctic region from Europe to Japan.
Cheiracanthium, commonly called yellow sac spiders, is a genus of araneomorph spiders in the Cheiracanthiidae family, and was first described by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1839. They are usually pale in colour, and have an abdomen that can range from yellow to beige. Both sexes range in size from 5 to 10 millimetres. They are unique among common house spiders because their tarsi do not point either outward, like members of Tegenaria, or inward, like members of Araneus), making them easier to identify. The name is a reference to the backwardly directed process on the cymbium of the male palp. The species epithet is derived from the Greek Ancient Greek: χείρ, romanized: cheir, meaning "hand", and Acanthium, a genus of thorny-stemmed plants.
Drassodes is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by Niklas Westring in 1851. They are brown, gray, and red spiders that live under rocks or bark in mostly dry habitats, and are generally 3.8 to 11.6 millimetres long, but can reach up to 20 millimetres (0.79 in) in length.
Dysdera is a genus of woodlouse hunting spiders that was first described by Pierre André Latreille in 1804. They originated from Central Asia to Central Europe.
Clubiona is a genus of sac spiders that was first described by Pierre André Latreille in 1804.
Zelotes is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by J. Gistel in 1848.
Lepthyphantes is a genus of dwarf spiders that was first described by Anton Menge in 1866.
Agyneta is a genus of dwarf spiders that was first described by J. E. Hull in 1911.
Haplodrassus is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by R. V. Chamberlin in 1922. They range from 3 to 10 millimetres. H. signifer is the most widespread species, found across North America except for Alaska and northern Canada.
Pterotricha is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by Władysław Kulczyński in 1903.
Centromerus is a genus of dwarf spiders that was first described by David B. Hirst in 1886.
Pelecopsis is a genus of dwarf spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1864.
