Linyphiidae


Linyphiidae is a family of very small spiders comprising 4644 described species in 617 genera worldwide. This makes Linyphiidae the second largest family of spiders after the Salticidae. The family is poorly known; new genera and species are still being discovered throughout the world. The newest such genus is Yuelushannus from China, formally described in May 2020. Because of the difficulty in identifying such tiny spiders, there are regular changes in taxonomy as species are combined or divided.

Names and classification

Spiders in this family are commonly known as sheet weavers, or money spiders.
There are six subfamilies, of which Linyphiinae, Erigoninae, and Micronetinae, contain the majority of described species.
Common genera include Neriene, Lepthyphantes, Erigone, Eperigone, Bathyphantes, Troglohyphantes, the monotypic genus Tennesseellum and many others. These are among the most abundant spiders in the temperate regions, although many are also found in the tropics. The generally larger bodied members of the subfamily Linyphiinae are commonly found in classic "bowl and doily" webs or filmy domes. The usually tiny members of the Erigoninae are builders of tiny sheet webs. These tiny spiders commonly balloon even as adults and may be very numerous in a given area on one day, only to disappear the next. Some males of the erigonines are exceptional, with their eyes set up on mounds or turrets. This reaches an extreme in some members of the large genus Walckenaeria, where several of the male's eyes are placed on a stalk taller than the carapace.
A few spiders in this family include:
Spiders of this family occur nearly worldwide. In Norway many species have been found walking on snow at temperatures of down to -7 °C.

Predators

Among birds, goldcrests are known to prey on money spiders.

Taxonomy

The Pimoidae are the sister group to the Linyphiidae. Many species have been described in monotypic genera, especially in the Erigoninae, which probably reflects the scientific techniques traditionally used in this family., the World Spider Catalog accepts the following genera: