Ecribellate
Guides
Amaurobiidae
Hackledmesh Weavers, Night Spiders, Laceweavers
Amaurobiidae is a family of three-clawed spiders found worldwide, containing approximately 286 species in 51 genera. Members are characterized by possessing either a cribellum (a silk-spinning plate) or being ecribellate, and are often difficult to distinguish from related families such as Agelenidae, Desidae, and Amphinectidae. The family's taxonomic boundaries and internal relationships have been historically contentious, with genera frequently reassigned between families based on morphological and molecular studies. Australian representatives are small to medium-sized entelegyne spiders with minimal sheet webs, while North American species include relatively large, powerful hunters.
Caponiidae
Bright Lungless Spiders
Caponiidae is a family of ecribellate haplogyne spiders distinguished by several unusual morphological traits. Members lack book lungs, instead respiring through tracheae. The posterior median spinnerets are anteriorly displaced, forming a transverse row with the anterior lateral spinnerets—a unique arrangement among spiders. Most species possess only two eyes, though eye number varies remarkably within the family, with some species having four, six, or eight eyes; in certain species, eye number increases through ontogeny. The family comprises 21 genera and approximately 157 species, predominantly distributed in the Americas and Africa.
Oecobiidae
disc web spiders, flatmesh weavers, wall spiders
Oecobiidae is a family of araneomorph spiders containing approximately 130 described species across seven genera. Members are small to moderately sized (2–20 mm body length) and are commonly known as disc web spiders or wall spiders due to their characteristic flat, star-shaped webs constructed on vertical surfaces. The family exhibits distinctive morphological traits including evenly radiating leg placement around the prosoma and a characteristic anal gland bearing a tuft of long hairs. Many species are synanthropic, occurring in and around human dwellings, while others inhabit desert or rocky environments.
Plectreurys
Plectreurys is a genus of ecribellate, haplogyne spiders in the family Plectreuridae, one of only two extant genera in this family. Species possess eight eyes—unusual among ecribellate haplogynes, which typically have six. They are nocturnal, sedentary hunters that inhabit silken tubes and rarely leave them. Males develop distinctive coupling spurs on the tibia of leg I, used during mating. The genus comprises 23 described species distributed across the southwestern United States, Mexico, Cuba, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.
Theridiidae
tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders, comb-footed spiders
Theridiidae is a large, globally distributed family of araneomorph spiders comprising over 2,600 species in more than 130 genera. Members are characterized by a comb of serrated bristles (setae) on the tarsus of the fourth leg, used to manipulate silk. The family exhibits remarkable diversity in web architecture, ranging from irregular tangle webs to specialized gumfoot webs and sheet-like structures. Theridiids are ecribellate, producing sticky capture silk rather than woolly silk, and are entelegyne with females possessing a genital plate. The family includes medically significant species such as widow spiders (Latrodectus), model organisms for social behavior research (Anelosimus), and specialized kleptoparasites (Argyrodinae).
Zora
Zora is a genus of small to medium-sized spiders in the family Miturgidae. These entelegyne, ecribellate spiders are characterized by two claws with claw tufts, distinct longitudinal bands on the cephalothorax, an 4-2-2 eye arrangement, and long overlapping spines on the first two tibiae and metatarsi. The genus contains 17 described species with abdomens showing distinct color patterns useful for species identification. The genus was established by C. L. Koch in 1847 and has historically been placed in the family Zoridae, though modern classifications assign it to Miturgidae.