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.
Philodromidae, also known as philodromid crab spiders and running crab spiders, is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Tord Tamerlan Teodor Thorell in 1870. It contains over 600 species in thirty genera. Most are dull colored- brown, gray, yellowish or mottled with a leaf-like cardiac mark on the anterior dorsal abdomen, and seldom reach above 10 millimetres (0.39 in) long. None of the species build webs, but they do use silk for draglines and egg sacs.
Liocranidae is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1897. They are one of several groups called "sac spiders". The holarctic genus Agroeca is the best-known, but it also includes various genera of more obscure spiders that still lack a diagnosis. Two species in the North American genus Neoanagraphis are found in the extremely dry conditions in the Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts. Females live in animal burrows while males wander and are the ones most often caught in pitfall traps.
Gasteracantha is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first named by Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1833. 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.
Coccorchestes is a genus of South Pacific jumping spiders that was first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1881.
Furculattus is a genus of the spider family Salticidae. Its only species is Furculattus maxillosus. It occurs on the Gazelle Peninsula of New Britain, New Guinea, where it was found in the canopy of rain forests.
Leptathamas is a spider genus of the jumping spider family, Salticidae, with one described species, which occurs only in New Guinea.
Barychelidae, also known as brushed trapdoor spiders, is a spider family with about 300 species in 42 genera. Most spiders in this family build trapdoor burrows. For example, the 20 millimetres (0.79 in) long Sipalolasma builds its burrow in rotted wood, with a hinged trapdoor at each end. The 10 millimetres (0.39 in) long Idioctis builds its burrow approximately 5 centimetres (2.0 in) deep, just below the high tide level, sealing the opening with a thin trapdoor.
Trochanteriidae is a family of spiders first described by Ferdinand Karsch in 1879 containing about 180 species in 21 genera. Most are endemic to Australia though Doliomalus and Trochanteria are from South America and Olin and Plator are from Asia. Platyoides species exist in southern and eastern Africa, Madagascar, and the Canary Islands with one species, P. walteri, introduced to Australia.
Telemidae, also known as long-legged cave spiders, is a family of small haplogyne spiders. Most are cave dwelling spiders with six eyes, though some do not have any eyes at all. There are about 85 described species in ten genera.
Nicodamidae is a family of araneomorph spiders with about thirty species in seven genera. They are small to medium-sized spiders found near the ground of eucalypt forest in small sheet webs. The species of this family are only present in Australia and Papua New Guinea. In most cases the cephalothorax and legs are uniformly red and the abdomen black, for which these species are sometimes called the "red and black spider".
Anapidae is a family of rather small spiders with 231 described species in 58 genera. It includes the former family Micropholcommatidae as the subfamily Micropholcommatinae, and the former family Holarchaeidae. Most species are less than 2 millimetres (0.079 in) long.
Yule Island is a small island in Central Province, Papua New Guinea. It is located 160 km NW from Port Moresby, on the south coast of Papua New Guinea.
Arkys, also known as triangular spider or ambush spider, is a genus of Australian araneomorph spiders in the family Arkyidae, first described by Charles Athanase Walckenaer in 1837. They are often small, with a triangular shaped abdomen, and are found in Australia and some of its surrounding islands. They don't build webs, but can often be found on leaves and tips of flower heads. Their egg sacs are pinkish-orange and spherical, and are made late in the summer.
Arkyidae 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.
Jocquella is a genus of Papuan long-legged cave spiders that was first described by L. Baert in 1980. As of September 2019 it contains two species, found in Papua New Guinea: J. boisai and J. leopoldi.
Microneta is a genus of dwarf spiders that was first described by Anton Menge in 1869.
Viribestus is a monotypic genus of Papuan jumping spiders containing the single species, Viribestus suyanensis. It was first described by J. X. Zhang & Wayne Paul Maddison in 2012, and is found in Papua New Guinea.
Zabkattus is a genus of Papuan jumping spiders that was first described by J. X. Zhang & Wayne Paul Maddison in 2012.
Demogenes is a genus of crab spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1895.
