The Araneomorphae (also called the Labidognatha) are an

infraorder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s. They are distinguishable by

chelicerae The chelicerae () are the mouthparts of the subphylum Chelicerata, an arthropod group that includes arachnids, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. Commonly referred to as " jaws", chelicerae may be shaped as either articulated fangs, or similarl ...

(fangs) that point diagonally forward and cross in a pinching action, in contrast to the

Mygalomorphae The Mygalomorphae, or mygalomorphs, are an infraorder of spiders, and comprise one of three major groups of living spiders with over 3000 species, found on all continents except Antarctica. Many members are known as trapdoor spiders due to the ...

(tarantulas and their close kin), where they point straight down. Araneomorphs comprise the vast majority of living spiders.

Distinguishing characteristics

Most spider species are Araneomorphae, which have

fangs A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fa ...

that face towards each other, increasing the orientations they can employ during prey capture. They have fewer book lungs (when present), and the females typically live one year. The Mygalomorphae have

that face towards the ground, and which are parallel to the long axis of the spider's body, thus they have only one orientation they can employ during prey capture. They have four pairs of book lungs, and the females often live many years. Image:Atrax robustus.jpg, This ''

Atrax robustus The Sydney funnel-web spider (''Atrax robustus'') is a species of venomous mygalomorph spider native to eastern Australia, usually found within a radius of Sydney. It is a member of a group of spiders known as Australian funnel-web spiders. ...

'' shows the orientation of Myglamorphae fangs. Image:Cheiracanthium punctorium frei 1 17 Forst Jungfernhdeide Jg 46 070920.jpg, This '' Cheiracanthium punctorium'' shows the orientation of Araneomorphae fangs.

Spiders included

Almost all of the familiar spiders are included in the Araneomorphae group, the major exception being the

Tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although m ...

s. There are a few other Mygalomorphae species that live around homes or gardens, but they typically are relatively small and not easily noticed. The Araneomorphae, to the contrary, include the weavers of spiral webs; the cobweb spiders that live in the corners of rooms, and between windows and screens; the crab spiders that lurk on the surfaces of flowers in gardens; the

jumping spider Jumping spiders are a group of spiders that constitute the family Salticidae. As of 2019, this family contained over 600 described genera and over 6,000 described species, making it the largest family of spiders at 13% of all species. Jumping spi ...

s that are visible hunting on surfaces; the

wolf spider Wolf spiders are members of the family Lycosidae (). They are robust and agile hunters with excellent eyesight. They live mostly in solitude, hunt alone, and do not spin webs. Some are opportunistic hunters, pouncing upon prey as they find it or ...

s that carpet hunting sites in sunny spots; and the large

huntsman spider Huntsman spiders, members of the family Sparassidae (formerly Heteropodidae), are known by this name because of their speed and mode of hunting. They are also called giant crab spiders because of their size and appearance. Larger species sometim ...

Systematics

In older schemes, the Araneomorphae were divided into two lineages, the ''Hypochilae'' (containing only the family

Hypochilidae Lampshade spiders, family Hypochilidae, are among the most primitive of araneomorph spiders. There are two genera and twelve species currently recognized. Like mygalomorphs, most hypochilids have two pairs of book lungs, but like araneomorphs the ...

), and the ''Neocribellatae''. The Neocribellatae were in turn divided into the Austrochiloidea, and the two

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

Haplogynae and Entelogynae, each containing several superfamilies. Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that the Haplogyne in particular are not a monophyletic group. A 2020 study suggested the relationships among the major groups were as shown in the following cladogram. The blue bar to the right shows the former Haplogynae in the sense of Coddington (2005).

Distinguishing characteristics

Spiders included

Systematics

Table of families

Notes

References

Citations

External links