Linothele

Linothele is a genus of curtain web spiders that was first described by Ferdinand Karsch in 1879. All but one of the described species are from South America (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela) and adjacent Panama. The exception is L. septentrionalis from the far-away Bahamas, although it has certain features that suggest it may belong in another genus.

Linothele females are stouter and tend to be more conspicuously colored than males. They make relatively complex webs that in most species are on or near the ground, mudbanks or rock walls (a few are arboreal), with females spending most of their life in a tunnel-like retreat. The male may wander and often inhabits a smaller web near a female's. The webs of Linothele species are commonly co-inhabited by tiny kleptoparasitic spiders of the genus Mysmenopsis.