Skip to content
EntityQ10966· pop 22· linked from 265 articles

Oecobiidae

Sign in to save

Oecobiidae, also called disc web spiders, is a family of araneomorph spiders, including about 130 described species. They are small to moderate sized spiders, about long combined head and body length, depending on the species. Larger ones tend to be desert-dwelling. The legs are unusually evenly placed around the prosoma; most other spiders have some legs directed clearly forward and the rest clearly backward, or all forward. The first two pairs of legs of many Oecobiids point forward then curve backwards. This gives a scurrying, wheel-like impression that is characteristic of many Oecobiidae,

Species

FAMILY

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumArthropoda
  3. ClassArachnida
  4. OrderAraneae
  5. FamilyOecobiidae
Observations recorded11,755

via GBIF

Wikidata facts

Image
Uroctea durandi bl.jpg
Show 3 more facts
Commons category
Oecobiidae
taxon name
Oecobiidae
taxon common name
Wall spiders
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~3 min read

Article

4 sections
Contents
  • Genera
  • Extinct genera
  • References
  • External links

Oecobiidae, also called disc web spiders, is a family of araneomorph spiders, including about 130 described species. They are small to moderate sized spiders, about long combined head and body length, depending on the species. Larger ones tend to be desert-dwelling. The legs are unusually evenly placed around the prosoma; most other spiders have some legs directed clearly forward and the rest clearly backward, or all forward. The first two pairs of legs of many Oecobiids point forward then curve backwards. This gives a scurrying, wheel-like impression that is characteristic of many Oecobiidae, and is helpful as a rough aid to identification in the field.

Characteristic of the family is the anal gland; it bears a tuft of long hairs. Typical colour patterns range from dark-patterned cream in some smaller species, to a small number of symmetrically placed, conspicuous round light spots (commonly yellow or white) on a background that may be anything from a dull orange colour to black. The carapace is rounded and bears a compact group of six to eight eyes medially situated near the front of its dorsal surface.

Connections

Categories