Wall spiders Temporal range:
| |
---|---|
Selenops insularis in Jamaica | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
Class: | Arachnida |
Order: | Araneae |
Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
Family: | Selenopidae Simon, 1897 |
Diversity | |
9 genera, 281 species | |
(Not complete) |
Selenopidae, also called wall crab spiders, wall spiders[1] and flatties,[2] is a family of nocturnal, free-ranging, araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1897.[3][4] It contains over 281 species in nine genera, of which Selenops is the most well-known. This family is just one of several families whose English name includes the phrase "crab spider". These spiders are often called "Flatties" due to their flattened dorsal profile.[5][6] The Afrikaans name for these spiders is "Muurspinnekop,"[6] which translates directly to "wall spider." The name Selenopidae comes from the greek moon goddess, Selene, as their eyes resemble the moon.[4]