Leptonetidae is a relatively primitive
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
of
spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
s first described by
Eugène Simon in 1890.
It is made up of tiny
haplogyne
The Haplogynae or haplogynes are one of the two main groups into which araneomorph spiders have traditionally been divided, the other being the Entelegynae. Morphological phylogenetic studies suggested that the Haplogynae formed a clade; more rece ...
spiders, meaning they lack the hardened external female genitalia. Their six eyes are arranged in a semicircle of four in front and two behind. Many live in caves or in leaf litter around the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
, and in
Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...
,
Japan and southern
North America.
Genera
, the
World Spider Catalog
The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...
accepted the following genera:
*''
Appaleptoneta''
Platnick, 1986 — United States
*''
Barusia''
Kratochvíl, 1978 — Montenegro, Croatia, Greece
*''
Calileptoneta''
Platnick, 1986 — United States
*''
Cataleptoneta''
Denis, 1955 — Asia, Europe
*''
Chisoneta''
Ledford & Griswold, 2011 — United States, Mexico
*''
Falcileptoneta''
Komatsu, 1970 — Japan, Korea
*''
Jingneta''
Wang & Li, 2020
*''
Leptoneta''
Simon, 1872 — Europe, Asia, Algeria
*''
Leptonetela''
Kratochvíl, 1978 — Greece, Asia
*''
Longileptoneta''
Seo, 2015 — Korea
*''
Masirana''
Kishida, 1942 — Japan, Korea
*''
Montanineta''
Ledford & Griswold, 2011 — United States
*''
Neoleptoneta''
Brignoli, 1972 — Mexico
*''
Ozarkia''
Ledford & Griswold, 2011 — United States
*''
Paraleptoneta''
Fage, 1913 — Algeria, Italy
*''
Protoleptoneta''
Deltshev, 1972 — Europe
*''
Rhyssoleptoneta''
Tong & Li, 2007 — China
*''
Sulcia''
Kratochvíl, 1938 — Europe
*''
Tayshaneta''
Ledford & Griswold, 2011 — United States
*''
Teloleptoneta''
Ribera, 1988 — Portugal
*''
Yueleptoneta''
Tong, 2022
Two genera have been moved to the family
Archoleptonetidae:
*''
Archoleptoneta''
Gertsch, 1974 — United States
*''
Darkoneta''
Ledford & Griswold, 2010 — North America, Central America
See also
*
List of Leptonetidae species
References
Further reading
* Gertsch, W.J. (1978). The spider family Leptonetidae in North America. ''Journal of Arachnology'' 1:145-203
PDF* Platnick, N.I. (1986). On the tibial and patellar glands, relationships, and American genera of the spider family Leptonetidae (Arachnida, Araneae). ''American Museum Novitates'' 2855
PDF
External links
Araneomorphae families
{{Araneomorphae-stub