Belongs within: Araneoidea.
Contains: Steatoda, Latrodectus, Enoplognatha, Phycosoma, Robertus, Argyrodes, Theridion, Achaearanea.
The Theridiidae, the cobweb spiders, are a cosmopolitan family of spiders that construct irregular webs with radiating threads. Prey is taken using a wrap-bite attack involving sticky silk (Jocqué & Dippenaar-Schoeman 2007). This family includes a number of species that live in association with humans. Notable members include Dipoena, a genus of very small spiders with an anteriorly raised carapace and a wide, concave clypeus. Phoroncidia is another genus of small spiders in which the skin of the abdomen is thickened and adorned with prominent lobes and knobs (Forster & Forster 1999). Females of the Hadrotarsinae have the colulus replaced by two setae and palmate palps (Jocqué & Dippenaar-Schoeman 2007).
Characters (from Jocqué & Dippenaar-Schoeman 2007): Small to medium-sized; eight eyes present; labium not rebordered; legs with three tarsal claws, with no or few spines; tarsi IV with a row of lightly curved, serrated bristles; ecribellate; modified, aggregate silk glands present, sticky silk used to wrap prey; male palpal tibia distally widened, no paracymbium; entelegyne.
<==Theridiidae [Theridioidae] |--Dipoena Thorell 1869A02 | |--D. aculeata (Hickman 1951) [=Trigonobothrys aculeatus]FS04 | |--D. blattea (Urquhart 1885) [incl. Theridium albogullatum Uruhart 1887, T. tuberculum Urquhart 1887]NS00 | |--D. crassiventrisB06 | |--D. infulata (Koch & Berendt 1854)S93 | |--D. melanogasterSS02 | |--D. prona (Menge 1868)K02 | `--D. setosa (Hickman 1951) [=Trigonobothrys setosus]FS04 `--+--RobertusA02 `--+--ArgyrodesA02 `--+--AnelosimusA02 | |--A. eximius (Keyserling 1884)A02 | `--A. vittatusV09 [=Theridion vittatumV09; incl. T. pulchellumP-C06] `--+--TheridionA02 `--AchaearaneaA02 Theridiidae incertae sedis: SteatodaPVD10 0--LatrodectusBS09 `--+--Spintharus [Spintharinae]BS09 | `--S. flavidusBS09 `--Phoroncidia Westwood 1835BS09, PVD10 [Phoroncidiinae] |--P. americanaBS09 |--P. lygeanaJD-S07 |--P. pukeiwa (Marples 1955)PVD10 |--P. puketoru (Marples 1955)PVD10 `--P. quadrata (Pickard-Cambridge 1879)PVD10 Theonoe minutissima (Cambridge 1879)K02 Neottiura Menge 1868S03 |--N. bimaculataS03 `--N. suaveolens (Simon 1879) [incl. Dipoena regia Drenski 1929]W77 Episinus Walckenaer in Latreille 1809PVD10 |--E. algiricus Lucas 1846E12 |--E. angulatus (Blackwall 1836)BBM02 |--E. antipodianus Pickard-Cambridge 1879PVD10 |--E. australis Koch & Keyserling 1890KK90 |--E. conifera (Urquhart 1887) [=Ariamnes conifera]NS00 |--E. similanus Urquhart 1893PVD10 |--E. similitudus Urquhart 1893PVD10 `--E. truncatusSS02 EnoplognathaW76 Pholcomma Thorell 1869 [Pholcommatinae]PVD10 |--P. antipodianum (Forster 1955)PVD10 [=Erigone antipodianaF64] |--P. gibbum (Westring 1851)MG03 |--P. hickmani Forster 1964PVD10 `--P. turbotti (Marples 1956)PVD10 Euryopis Menge 1868PVD10 |--E. argenteaJVHN90 |--E. elegans Koch & Keyserling 1890KK90 |--E. episinoides (Walckenaer 1847)PO08 |--E. flavomaculata (Koch 1836)BBM02 `--E. nana (Pickard-Cambridge 1879)PVD10 [incl. Theridium pusillulum Urquhart 1890NS00] LithyphantesS95 |--L. anticus Berland 1939S93 |--L. corollatusS95 |--L. lepidusM83 `--L. marmoratusS06 Moneta Pickard Cambridge 1870PVD10 `--M. conifera (Urquhart 1887)PVD10 Teutana grossaM83 PhycosomaFS04 Nesticodes Archer 1950PVD10 `--*N. rufipes (Lucas 1846)PVD10 (see below for synonymy) Lasaeola Simon 1881MG03 |--L. austera (Simon 1908) [=Dipoena (Lasaeola) austera]M90 |--L. lindholmi Strand 1910 [=Dipoena lindholmi]J98 `--L. tristis (Hahn 1833)MG03 Paidiscura Archer 1950MG03 `--P. dromedaria (Simon 1880)MG03 Chrosiothes curvispinosusP92 Icona Forster 1955PVD10 |--*I. alba Forster 1955PVD10 `--I. drama Forster 1964PVD10 Paraebius Thorell 1894T94 `--*P. mandibularis Thorell 1894T94 Landana petitiiT94 Chrysso picturata (Simon 1895)HU08 ThwaitesiaL-M-HM11 Parasteatoda Archer 1946PVD10 |--*P. tepidariorum (Koch 1841)PVD10 `--P. lunata (Clerck 1757)MF11 Crustulina Menge 1868GGG04 `--C. guttata (Wid. 1834)S06 Cephela longisetaV09 Coleosoma floridanumV09 CoscinidaJD-S07 Hadrotarsinae [Hadrotarsidae]JD-S07 ProboscidulaJD-S07 EmertonellaMC13 YagunimenaMC13 Cryptachaea Archer 1946PVD10 |--C. blattea (Urquhart 1886) [incl. Achaearanea acoreensis (Berland 1932)]PVD10 `--C. verruculata (Urquhart 1886)PVD10 Ariamnes Thorell 1968PVD10 |--A. colubrinus Koch in Koch & Keyserling 1890KK90 `--A. triangularis Urquhart 1887PVD10 [=Argyrodes triangulatusNS00] Rhomphaea Koch 1872PVD10 `--R. urquharti (Bryant 1933)PVD10 [=Argyrodes urquhartiiNS00, Ariamnes attenuatus Urquhart 1887NS00] FlegiaS93 |--F. longimana Koch & Berendt 1854S93 `--F. succini Petrunkevitch 1942S93 MunicepsS93 |--M. chiapasanus Petrunkevitch 1971P92 |--M. minutus Petrunkevitch 1942S93 `--M. pulcheri (Petrunkevitch 1942)S93 Mictodipoena stridula (Petrunkevitch 1958)S93 EomysmenaS93 |--E. asta Petrunkevitch 1971P92 |--E. baltica (Petrunkevitch 1946)S93 |--E. bassleri (Petrunkevitch 1942)S93 |--E. moritura Petrunkevitch 1942S93 `--E. stridens Petrunkevitch 1958S93 Nactodipoena dunbari Petrunkevitch 1942S93 EodipoenaS93 |--E. consulta Petrunkevitch 1958S93 |--E. germanica Petrunkevitch 1958S93 |--E. kaestneri Petrunkevitch 1958S93 |--E. nielseni Petrunkevitch 1958S93 |--E. oculata Petrunkevitch 1942S93 `--E. regalis Petrunkevitch 1958S93 NanomysmenaS93 |--N. aculeata Petrunkevitch 1958S93 |--N. gracilis Petrunkevitch 1958S93 `--N. munita Petrunkevitch 1958S93 Astodipoena crassa Petrunkevitch 1958S93 Cretotheridion Wunderlich 2015W19 Burmatheridion Wunderlich 2018W19 ClyaP92 ClythiaP92 CornitisP92 ProneposP92 |--P. exilis Petrunkevitch 1963P92 `--P. fossilis Petrunkevitch 1963P92 CornutidionP92 CraspedisiaP92 DipoenataP92 StemmopsP92 StyposisP92 Formicina mutinensisR96 Pedanostethus Simon 1884S06 |--P. lividus (Blackw. 1836)S06 |--P. neglectus (Cambr. 1871)S06 `--P. riparius Keys. 1886S06 Melos Pickard-Cambridge 1899P-C06 `--*M. bicolor Pickard-Cambridge 1899P-C06 Phyllonethis lineata [incl. P. lineata var. redimitum]P-C06 Nomen nudum: Lithyphantes alascensisS06
*Nesticodes rufipes (Lucas 1846)PVD10 [=Theridion rufipesFF99; incl. T. bajulans Koch 1875S99, T. borbonicum Vinson 1864S99, T. flavoaurantiacum Sim. 1880S99, T. longipes v. Hasselt 1882S99, T. luteipes Cambr. 1870S99]
*Type species of generic name indicated
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