Order Spider | Superfamily Araneoidea Rank Family | |
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Similar Mysmenidae, Malkaridae, Cyatholipidae, Amphinectidae, Gallieniellidae | ||
Anapidae is a family of rather small spiders with 154 described species in 36 genera. Alternatively the family may include Micropholcommatidae as the subfamily Micropholcommatinae, with a further 66 species and 19 genera. Most species are less than 2 mm long.
Contents
In some species (such as Pseudanapis parocula) the pedipalps of the female are reduced to coxal stumps.
Anapidae generally live in leaf litter and moss on the floor of rain forest. Many build orb webs with a diameter of less than 3 cm.
Distribution
Most genera inhabit New Zealand, Australia and Africa. However, several genera occur in Asia (Japan, China, Korea). Only Comaroma simoni and the three species of Zangherella are found in Europe; Gertschanapis shantzi and Comaroma mendocino live in the United States.
Description
Spiders of this family are very small, usually less than two millimeters long, and lack a cribellum. They can have either six or eight eyes, the rear median eyes either reduced or missing. The carapace is modified so that the eyes are raised higher than usual. Color can range from reddish brown to yellowish brown. Both margins of chelicerae have teeth. The legs are short and spineless. The labium has a spur that extends between the chelicerae and can be seen when the chelicerae are spread.
Systematics
Although the Micropholcommatidae were synonymized with this family by Schütt (2003), this move was not followed by all researchers, although accepted in a 2014 review of the systematics of the orb-weaving spiders.
Genera
