Sac spider

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Sac spider
Temporal range: Palaeogene–present
Clubiona trivialis2.jpg
Clubiona trivialis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Clubionidae
Simon, 1878
Diversity
18 genera, 678 species
Clubionidae range map.svg
blue: reported countries (WSC)
green: observation hotspots (iNaturalist)

The sac spiders of the family Clubionidae [a] are nocturnal, sac-building hunting spiders with a near-worldwide distribution. Their sacs, silken retreats in which they hide during the day, may be made in a variety of places, including between folded leaves or grass blades, under bark and below rocks or other ground litter. [1]

Contents

Although formerly a much larger catch-all taxon, in its current definition the family contains less than 700 described species across 18 genera, of which Clubiona is by far most species-rich, with 528 accepted species as of November 2024. [2]

Taxonomy

The Clubionidae have a complex taxonomic history. Historically, the family was a large catch-all taxon for a variety of spiders that shared the following morphological and behavioral similarities: having eight eyes arranged in two rows; having conical anterior spinnerets that touched; and being nocturnal wandering predators that build "sacs" to retreat to during the day.[ citation needed ]

A large number of genera have been transferred from Clubionidae to other families, and several former subfamilies of the Clubionidae are now treated as separate families. [3] The Zoropsidae, to which genera Anachemmis, Lauricius and Liocranoides were transferred, is much more closely related to the lynx spiders of family Oxyopidae than to the remaining Clubionidae. [4]

According to 2023 cladistic research by Siddharth Kulkarni, Hannah M. Wood and Gustavo Hormiga, the remaining Clubionidae remain polyphyletic as a result of the current placement of genus Elaver . [4]

Genera

As of January 2026, this family includes eighteen genera and 678 species: [3]

Additionally, the World Spider Catalog considers Carteroniella Strand, 1907 to be a nomen dubium . [5]

Notes

  1. ↑ the term "sac spider" is also part of the common name of various non-clubionid spiders—such as yellow sac spiders (Cheiracanthiidae) or corinnid sac spiders (Corinnidae)—many of which were formerly included in Clubionidae

References

  1. ↑ Das Sarkar, Irina; Quasin, Shazia; Siliwal, Manju (April 2023). "Two new species of sac spiders (Araneae: Clubionidae) from the Indian Western Himalayas". Serket. 19: 126. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  2. ↑ "Clubiona Species list". World Spider Catalog Version 25.5. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Family Clubionidae Simon, 1878". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2 . Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  4. 1 2 Kulkarni, Siddharth; Wood, Hannah M.; Hormiga, Gustavo (December 2023). "Advances in the reconstruction of the spider tree of life: A roadmap for spider systematics and comparative studies". Cladistics. 39 (6): 479–532. doi: 10.1111/cla.12557 . ISSN   0748-3007. PMID   37787157.
  5. ↑ "Carteroniella Strand 1907". World Spider Catalog version 25.5. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
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