| Purcelliana | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Prodidominae |
| Genus: | Purcelliana Cooke, 1964 [1] |
Purcelliana is a genus of South African long-spinneret ground spiders. It was first described by J. A. L. Cooke in 1964, [2] and is only found in South Africa. [1]
As of August 2022 [update] it contains four species: [1]
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.
The recluse spiders, also known as brown spiders, fiddle-backs, violin spiders, and reapers, is a genus of spiders that was first described by R. T. Lowe in 1832. They are venomous spiders known for their bite, which sometimes produces a characteristic set of symptoms known as loxoscelism.
Ground spiders comprise Gnaphosidae, the seventh largest spider family with over 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.
Oonopidae, also known as goblin spiders, is a family of spiders consisting of over 1,600 described species in about 113 genera worldwide, with total species diversity estimated at 2000 to 2500 species. The type genus of the family is OonopsKeyserling, 1835.
Kikongo is a genus of sub-Saharan African ground spiders first described by B. V. B. Rodrigues and C. A. Rheims in 2020. As of December 2021 it contains only three species: K. buta, K. rutshuru, and K. ruwenzori.
Velvet spiders are a small group of spiders almost entirely limited to the Old World, with exception of a few species known from Brazil. The characteristics of this family of spiders are that they are entelegyne, eight-eyed araneomorph spiders that build unkempt webs. They are cribellate. Some species are nearly eusocial, lacking only a specialized caste system and a queen. They cooperate in brood rearing, unlike most other spiders except for some African agelenid spiders in the genus Agelena and a few others.
Prodidominae is a family of spider, sometimes called long-spinneret ground spiders. It was formerly regarded as a subfamily of Gnaphosidae, but was raised to a family in 2022.
Hersilia, also known as long-spinnered bark spiders and two-tailed spiders, is a genus of tree trunk spiders that was first described by Jean Victoire Audouin in 1826. Their nicknames are a reference to their greatly enlarged spinnerets.
Uroctea is a genus of spiders that is found in Eurasia and Africa. It is sometimes put into its own family, Urocteidae. Their tent-like web is very similar to the ones Oecobius builds; but Uroctea species do not have a cribellum.
Kituba is a small genus of central African ground spiders. It was first described by B. V. B. Rodrigues and C. A. Rheims in 2020, and it has only been found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of December 2021 it contains only two species: K. langalanga and K. mayombensis.
Scytodes is a genus of spitting spiders that occur all around the world. The most widely distributed species is Scytodes thoracica, which originally had a palearctic distribution, but has been introduced to North America, Argentina, India, Australia, and New Zealand. The genus was first described by Pierre André Latreille in 1804. Spitting spiders have pale yellow bodies with black spots on their cephalothorax, and legs that are characterized by black bands.
Synotaxus is a genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Synotaxidae that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1895. Originally placed with the tangle web spiders, it was moved to the monotypic family Synotaxidae in 2017.
Pionothele is a genus of African mygalomorph spiders in the family Pycnothelidae. It was first described by William Frederick Purcell in 1902. As of June 2020 it contains three species, found in Namibia and South Africa: P. capensis, P. gobabeb, and P. straminea. Originally placed with the Ctenizidae, it was transferred to the funnel-web trapdoor spiders in 1985, then to the Pycnothelidae in 2020.
Eleleis is a genus of spiders in the family Prodidominae. It was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1893, and is only found in southern Africa.
Prodidomus is a genus of long-spinneret ground spiders that was first described by Nicholas Marcellus Hentz in 1847.
Paracymbiomma is a genus of South American long-spinneret ground spiders. It was first described by B. V. B. Rodrigues, I. Cizauskas and C. A. Rheims in 2018, and it has only been found in Brazil.
Yoruba is a small genus of western African ground spiders first described by B. V. B. Rodrigues and C. A. Rheims in 2020 and added to the subfamily Prodidominae. As of December 2021 it contains only two species: Y. ibadanus and Y. toubensis.