Leptonetidae

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Classis: Arachnida
Ordo: Araneae
Subordo: Opisthothelae
Infraordo: Araneomorphae
Taxon: Neocribellatae
Series: Haplogynae
Superfamilia: Leptonetoidea

Familia: Leptonetidae
Subfamiliae: Archoleptonetinae – Leptonetinae – †Palaeoleptonetinae
Overview of genera

Appaleptoneta – Archoleptoneta – Barusia – Calileptoneta – Cataleptoneta – Chisoneta – Darkoneta – Falcileptoneta – Guineta – Jingneta – Leptoneta – Leptonetela – Masirana – Montanineta – Neoleptoneta – Ozarkia – Paraleptoneta – Pararana – Protoleptoneta – Rhyssoleptoneta – Sinoneta – Sulcia – Tayshaneta – Teloleptoneta – Yueleptoneta – †Palaeoleptoneta
Name

Leptonetidae Simon, 1890
References

Ledford, J.M.; Griswold, C.E. 2010: A study of the subfamily Archoleptonetinae (Araneae, Leptonetidae) with a review of the morphology and relationships for the Leptonetidae. Zootaxa, 2391: 1–32. Preview
Lin, Y.; Li, S. 2010: Leptonetid spiders from caves of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, China (Araneae: Leptonetidae). Zootaxa, 2587: 1–93. Preview
Lin, Y.J. Zhao, H.F., Koh. J.K.H. & Li, S.Q. 2022. Taxonomy notes on twenty-eight spider species (Arachnida: Araneae) from Asia. Zoological Systematics 47(3): 198–270. DOI: 10.11865/zs.2022303. Paywall. Reference page.
Wang, C.X., Li, S.Q. & Zhu, W.H. 2020. Taxonomic notes on Leptonetidae (Arachnida, Araneae) from China, with descriptions of one new genus and eight new species. Zoological Research 41(6): 684-704. DOI: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2020.214. Open access. Reference page.
Yang, K.W., Li, H.C., Tong, Y.F. & Bian, D.J. 2022. A new genus and species of leptonetid spiders (Araneae, Leptonetidae) from Guangdong Province, China. Biodiversity Data Journal 10: e80219. DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.10.e80219. Open access. Reference page.

Links

Platnick, N. I. 2008. The World Spider Catalog, version 9.0. American Museum of Natural History. [1]

Vernacular names
English: Leptonetid spider
日本語: マシラグモ科
한국어: 잔나비거미과
中文: 弱蛛科

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]
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]

Appaleptoneta Platnick, 1986 — United States
Barusia Kratochvíl, 1978 — Montenegro, Croatia, Greece
Calileptoneta Platnick, 1986 — United States
Cataleptoneta Denis, 1955 — Asia, Europe
Chisoneta Ledford & Griswold, 2011 — United States, Mexico
Falcileptoneta Komatsu, 1970 — Japan, Korea
Jingneta Wang & Li, 2020
Leptoneta Simon, 1872 — Europe, Asia, Algeria
Leptonetela Kratochvíl, 1978 — Greece, Asia
Longileptoneta Seo, 2015 — Korea
Masirana Kishida, 1942 — Japan, Korea
Montanineta Ledford & Griswold, 2011 — United States
Neoleptoneta Brignoli, 1972 — Mexico
Ozarkia Ledford & Griswold, 2011 — United States
Paraleptoneta Fage, 1913 — Algeria, Italy
Protoleptoneta Deltshev, 1972 — Europe
Rhyssoleptoneta Tong & Li, 2007 — China
Sulcia Kratochvíl, 1938 — Europe
Tayshaneta Ledford & Griswold, 2011 — United States
Teloleptoneta Ribera, 1988 — Portugal
Yueleptoneta Tong, 2022

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

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