Leptonetidae

Leptonetidae is a family of small spiders adapted to live in dark and moist places such as caves.[1] The family is relatively primitive having diverged around the Middle Jurassic period.[2] They were first described by Eugène Simon in 1890.[3]

Leptonetids
Temporal range:
Tayshaneta anopica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Leptonetidae
Simon, 1890
Diversity
21 genera, 365 species

Distinguishing characteristics

Leptonetids are small, with most falling between 2 and 5mm in total length.[2] They are generally pale in color and feature a greenish or bluish shine due to microscopic texture on the cuticle of their exoskeleton.[1] Those species which have retained their eyes, have 6 eyes set in a distinctive pattern, with posterior pair set back from the others. If a spider from this family looses a leg, it usually separates between the patella and tibia rather than at the coxa/trochanter joint. [4]

Habitat

Many live in caves or in leaf litter around the Mediterranean, and in Eurasia, Japan and southern North America.[5]

Genera
Main article: List of Leptonetidae species

As of April 2022, the World Spider Catalog accepted the following genera:[5]

Two genera have been moved to the family Archoleptonetidae:[6]

  • Archoleptoneta Gertsch, 1974 — United States
  • Darkoneta Ledford & Griswold, 2010 — North America, Central America

See also

References
  1. Spiders of the world : a natural history. Norman I. Platnick, Gustavo Hormiga, Peter, Jäger, R. Jocqué, Martín J. Ramírez, Robert J. Raven. Princeton, NJ. 2020. ISBN 978-0-691-20498-7. OCLC 1223249471.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. Ledford, Joel; Derkarabetian, Shahan; Ribera, Carles; Starrett, James; Bond, Jason E.; Griswold, Charles; Hedin, Marshal (2021-03-24). "Phylogenomics and biogeography of leptonetid spiders (Araneae : Leptonetidae)". Invertebrate Systematics. 35 (3): 332–349. doi:10.1071/IS20065. ISSN 1447-2600.
  3. Simon, E. (1890). Etudes arachnologiques.
  4. Bradley, Richard A., 'FAMILY LEPTONETIDAE • Midget Cave Spiders', Common Spiders of North America (Oakland, CA, 2012; online edn, California Scholarship Online, 23 May 2013), https://doi.org/10.1525/california/9780520274884.003.0032, accessed 27 Apr. 2023.
  5. "Family: Leptonetidae Simon, 1890". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
  6. "Family: Archoleptonetidae Gertsch, 1974". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2022-04-05.

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
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