Phyxelididae
| Lace web spiders | |
|---|---|
 | |
| female Themacrys irrorata | |
 | |
| female Vidole capensis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Phyxelididae Lehtinen, 1967 |
| Diversity | |
| 14 genera, 68 species | |
 | |
| blue: reported countries (WSC) | |
Phyxelididae is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Pekka T. Lehtinen in 1967 as a subfamily of Amaurobiidae,[1] and later elevated to family status as a sister group of Titanoecidae.[2]
Life style
Funnel web with funnel wedged between leaves of a wild fig
The central funnel section of the web
Female in silk tunnel
Genera
female Vidole sothoana
male V. sothoana
As of January 2026, this family includes fourteen genera and 68 species:[3]
- Ambohima Griswold, 1990 – Madagascar
- Kulalania Griswold, 1990 – Kenya
- Lamaika Griswold, 1990 – South Africa
- Malaika Lehtinen, 1967 – South Africa
- Manampoka Griswold, Wood & Carmichael, 2012 – Madagascar
- Matundua Lehtinen, 1967 – South Africa
- Namaquarachne Griswold, 1990 – South Africa
- Phyxelida Simon, 1894 – Eastern Africa, South Africa, Israel, Turkey, Cyprus, East Africa
- Pongolania Griswold, 1990 – South Africa
- Rahavavy Griswold, Wood & Carmichael, 2012 – Madagascar
- Themacrys Simon, 1906 – Lesotho, South Africa
- Vidole Lehtinen, 1967 – Lesotho, South Africa
- Vytfutia Deeleman-Reinhold, 1986 – Madagascar, Indonesia, Malaysia
- Xevioso Lehtinen, 1967 – Malawi, Mozambique, Eswatini, South Africa, Zimbabwe
See also
References
- ↑ Lehtinen, P. T. (1967). "Classification of the cribellate spiders and some allied families, with notes on the evolution of the suborder Araneomorpha". Annales Zoologici Fennici. 4: 199–468.
- ↑ Griswold, C. E.; Coddington, J. A.; Platnick, N. I.; Forster, R. R.; et al. (1999). "Towards a phylogeny of entelegyne spiders (Araneae, Araneomorphae, Entelegynae)" (PDF). Journal of Arachnology. 27: 53–63. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-02-11. Retrieved 2006-07-10.
- ↑ "Family Phyxelididae Lehtinen, 1967". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
External links