The family Dipluridae, known as curtain-web spiders are a group of spiders in the infraorder Mygalomorphae, that have two pairs of booklungs, and chelicerae (fangs) that move up and down in a stabbing motion. A number of genera, including that of the Sydney funnel-web spider (Atrax), used to be classified in this family but have now been moved to Atracidae.
Theridiidae, also known as the tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders and comb-footed spiders, is a large family of araneomorph spiders first described by Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1833. This diverse, globally distributed family includes over 3,000 species in 124 genera, and is the most common arthropod found in human dwellings throughout the world.
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.
Linyphiidae, spiders commonly known as sheet weavers, or money spiders is a family of very small spiders comprising 4706 described species in 620 genera worldwide. This makes Linyphiidae the second largest family of spiders after the Salticidae. The family is poorly understood due to their small body size and wide distribution; new genera and species are still being discovered throughout the world. The newest such genus is Himalafurca from Nepal, formally described in April 2021 by Tanasevitch. Since it is so difficult to identify such tiny spiders, there are regular changes in taxonomy as species are combined or divided.
Long-jawed orb weavers or long jawed spiders (Tetragnathidae) are a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Anton Menge in 1866. They have elongated bodies, legs, and chelicerae, and build small orb webs with an open hub with few, wide-set radii and spirals with no signal line or retreat. Some species are often found in long vegetation near water.
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.
Scaffold web spiders or cave cobweb spiders (Nesticidae) are a family of araneomorph spiders closely allied with tangle-web spiders (Theridiidae). Like the Theridiidae, these spiders have a comb of serrated bristles on the hind tarsi that are used to pull silk bands from the spinnerets. Nesticidae contains 16 genera and about 300 species, many of which are associated with caves or overhangs. The genus Nesticus is the type for the family and is found throughout the world. The related Eidmannella has speciated considerably in Texas caves and includes some extremely localized species that are considered threatened. One species, Eidmannella pallida, is found in caves and under overhangs, but also in agricultural fields and other habitats away from such restricted areas. The genus Carpathonesticus is found in central Eurasia.
Dwarf sheet spiders (Hahniidae) is a family of araneomorph spiders, first described by Philipp Bertkau in 1878. Their bodies are about 2 millimetres (0.079 in) long, and they build extremely delicate webs in the form of a sheet. Unlike many spiders the web does not lead to a retreat. The silk used in these webs is so fine that they are difficult to spot unless they are coated with dew. They greatly favor locations near water or near moss, and are often found in leaf litter and detritus or on the leaves of shrubs and trees.
Hersiliidae is a tropical and subtropical family of spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1869, which are commonly known as tree trunk spiders. They have two prominent spinnerets that are almost as long as their abdomen, earning them another nickname, the "two-tailed spiders". They range in size from 10 to 18 mm long. Rather than using a web that captures prey directly, they lay a light coating of threads over an area of tree bark and wait for an insect to stray onto the patch. When this happens, they encircle their spinnerets around their prey while casting silk on it. When the insect is immobilized, they can bite it through the shroud.
Theridiosomatidae, commonly known as Ray Spiders, are a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1881. The family includes 137 species divided between 20 genera. They are most recognizable for their construction of cone-shaped webs.
Pimoidae is a small family of araneomorph spiders first described by J. Wunderlich in 1986. As re-circumscribed in 2021, it is monophyletic, and contained 85 species in two genera. It is closely related to the Linyphiidae, and is sometimes treated as synonymous with that family.
Trochanteriidae is a family of spiders first described by Ferdinand Karsch in 1879 containing about 52 species in 6 genera. Most are endemic to Australia though Doliomalus and Trochanteria are from South America and Plator is from Asia. Platyoides species exist in southern and eastern Africa, Madagascar, and the Canary Islands with one species, P. walteri, introduced to Australia.
Tetrablemmidae, sometimes called armored spiders, is a family of tropical araneomorph spiders first described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1873. It contains 126 described species in 29 genera from southeast Asia, with a few that occur in Africa and Central and South America. Pacullidae was incorporated into this family in 1981, but was later restored as a separate family in a 2016 phylogenetic study.
Phyxelididae is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Pekka T. Lehtinen in 1967 as a subfamily of Amaurobiidae, and later elevated to family status as a sister group of Titanoecidae.
Cyatholipidae is a family of spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1894. Most live in moist montane forest, though several species, including Scharffia rossi, live in dry savannah regions. They occur in Africa, including Madagascar, New Zealand and Australia, and one species in Jamaica. Most members of this family hang beneath sheet webs. Fossil species occur in the Eocene aged Bitterfield and Baltic Ambers, suggesting a wider geographic distribution in the past.
Mysmenidae is a spider family with about 180 described species in seventeen genera. The family is one of the least well known of the orb-weaving spiders because of their small size and cryptic behaviour. These spiders are found in humid habitats such as among leaf litter and in caves.
Archaeidae, also known as assassin spiders and pelican spiders, is a spider family with about ninety described species in five genera. It contains small spiders, ranging from 2 to 8 millimetres long, that prey exclusively on other spiders. They are unusual in that they have "necks", ranging from long and slender to short and thick. The name "pelican spider" refers to these elongated jaws and necks used to catch their prey. Living species of Archaeidae occur in South Africa, Madagascar and Australia, with the sister family Mecysmaucheniidae occurring in southern South America and New Zealand.
Cepheia is a monotypic genus of European araneomorph spiders in the family Synaphridae containing the single species, Cepheia longiseta. It was first described as Theonoe longiseta in 1881, and was moved to its own genus in 1894. Originally placed with the tangle-web spiders, it was moved several times before settling in the Synaphridae in 2003. Paolo Brignoli noted that it is an unidentifiable theridiid.
Synaphris is a genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Synaphridae, and was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1894. Originally placed with the tangle web spiders, it was moved to the Symphytognathidae in 1973, and to the Synaphridae in 2003.
