| Rastellus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Gnaphosidae |
| Genus: | Rastellus Platnick & Griffin, 1990 [1] |
| Type species | |
| R. africanus Platnick & Griffin, 1990 | |
| Species | |
7, see text | |
Rastellus is a genus of African termite hunters first described by Norman I. Platnick & E. Griffin in 1990. [2]
As of April 2019 [update] it contains seven species: [1]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Orsolobidae is a six-eyed spider family with about 180 described species in thirty genera. It was first described by J. A. L. Cooke in 1965, and was raised to family status from "Dysderidae" in 1985.
The Harpactirinae are a subfamily of tarantulas which are native to the continent of Africa. Like many Old World tarantulas, they have a relatively strong venom, and can inflict a painful bite.
Platyoides is a genus of spiders belonging to the family Trochanteriidae. Its members are known as scorpion spiders and are found in sub-Saharan Africa and its islands, Madagascar, Réunion, Aldabra and the Canary Islands.
Zelotes is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by J. Gistel in 1848.
Camillina is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by Lucien Berland in 1919. They are very similar to sister genus Zelotes.
Caponiidae is a family of ecribellate haplogyne spiders that are unusual in a number of ways. They differ from other spiders in lacking book lungs and having the posterior median spinnerets anteriorly displaced to form a transverse row with the anterior lateral spinnerets. Most species have only two eyes, which is also unusual among spiders. A few species of Caponiidae variously have four, six or eight eyes. In some species the number of eyes will increase when the spiderling changes its skin as it grows towards adulthood.
Paradonea is a genus of African velvet spiders that was first described by R. F. Lawrence in 1968.
Eilica is a genus of ground spiders that was first described by Eugen von Keyserling in 1891.
Namundra is a genus of African long-spinneret ground spiders that was first described by Norman I. Platnick & T. L. Bird in 2007.
Prodidomus is a genus of long-spinneret ground spiders that was first described by Nicholas Marcellus Hentz in 1847.
Cyrioctea is a genus of spiders in the family Zodariidae. It was first described in 1889 by Simon. As of 2017, it contains 14 African and South American species.