Cicurinidae is a

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 ...

araneomorph The Araneomorphae (also called the Labidognatha) are an infraorder of spiders. They are distinguishable by chelicerae (fangs) that point diagonally forward and cross in a pinching action, in contrast to the Mygalomorphae (tarantulas and their cl ...

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 d ...

Taxonomy

The taxon was first described by F. O. Pickard-Cambridge in 1893 as the subfamily Cicurinae. It was resurrected in 2023, with one genus (''Brommella'') transferred from

Dictynidae Dictynidae is a family of cribellate, hackled band-producing spiders first described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1871. Most build irregular webs on or near the ground, creating a tangle of silken fibers among several branches or stems of one ...

and two (''Chorizomma'' and ''Cicurina'') from

Hahniidae Dwarf sheet spiders (Hahniidae) is a family of araneomorph spiders, first described by Philipp Bertkau in 1878. Their bodies are about long, and they build extremely delicate webs in the form of a sheet. Unlike many spiders the web does not lea ...

Phylogeny

A 2023

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study of the 'marronoid' group of initially nine spider families led to a changed

circumscription Circumscription may refer to: *Circumscribed circle * Circumscription (logic) *Circumscription (taxonomy) *Circumscription theory The circumscription theory is a theory of the role of warfare in state formation in political anthropology, created ...

of some of the families, including two resurrected or new families, Cicurinidae and

Macrobunidae Macrobunidae is a family of araneomorph spiders. It was treated as a subfamily of Amaurobiidae until elevated to a full family based on a 2023 molecular phylogenetic study. Taxonomy A 2023 molecular phylogenetic study of the 'marronoid' group of ...

. The relationships in the study's maximum likelihood summary tree are shown below. Two genera included in the study, ''Brommella'' and ''Cicurina'', were found to form a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic ...

group, distinct from other families, and were placed in the Cicurinidae. (''Chorizomma'' was later included on morphological grounds.)

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 four genera: *'' Altimella'' Wang & Z.S. Zhang, 2024 *''

Brommella ''Brommella'' is a genus of cribellate araneomorph spiders in the family Dictynidae, and was first described by Albert Tullgren in 1948. Species it contains twenty-two species: *'' Brommella baiseensis'' Li, 2017 – China *'' Brommella bishop ...

'' Tullgren, 1948 *''

Chorizomma ''Chorizomma'' is a monotypic genus of European dwarf sheet spiders containing the single species, ''Chorizomma subterraneum''. It was first described by Eugène Simon in 1872, and has only been found in Spain and France. Originally placed with ...

'' Simon, 1872 *''

Cicurina ''Cicurina'', also called the cave meshweaver, is a genus of dwarf sheet spiders that was first described by Anton Menge in 1871. Originally placed with the funnel weavers, it was moved to the Dictynidae in 1967, then to the Hahniidae in 2017. ...

'' Menge, 1871

Diagnosis

Members of the family Cicurinidae can be distinguished from Dictynidae and Hahniidae, as well as other marronoids, by their lack of a

cribellum Cribellum literally means "little sieve", and in biology the term generally applies to anatomical structures in the form of tiny perforated plates. In certain groups of diatoms it refers to microscopically punctured regions of the frustule, or ...

which is replaced by a small

colulus Cribellum literally means "little sieve", and in biology the term generally applies to anatomical structures in the form of tiny perforated plates. In certain groups of diatoms it refers to microscopically punctured regions of the frustule, or ...

with several bristles (setae). Their legs have three

tarsal claws This glossary describes the terms used in formal descriptions of spiders; where applicable these terms are used in describing other arachnids. Links within the glossary are shown . Terms A Abdomen or opisthosoma: One of the two main body parts ...

without claw tufts. Mature male palps have an enlarged

retrolateral tibial apophysis This glossary describes the terms used in formal descriptions of spiders; where applicable these terms are used in describing other arachnids. Links within the glossary are shown . Terms A Abdomen or opisthosoma: One of the two main body parts ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q124807198 Araneomorphae families