The spider family Liocranidae includes 171 described species (Platnick 2013), including 11 that occur in North America north of Mexico (Ubick and Richman 2005). Liocranids are wandering, nocturnally hunting ground spiders that are found under rocks and in leaf litter and construct sac-like retreats. Most are forest species (e.g., in North America, Apostenus is associated with oaks and Hesperocranum largely with conifers), although there are exceptions (e.g., Neoanagraphis is found in the Mojave Desert). A series of paired spines are often present beneath the tibiae and metatarsi of the front two pairs of legs. Some liocranids are tiny.
Genera currently placed in Liocranidae were formerly included within Clubionidae and the composition of Liocranidae remains somewhat unresolved. A number of species formerly included in Liocranidae have been transferred to the family Corinnidae.
(Ubick and Richman 2005; Bradley 2013)
Liocranidae is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1897.[1] They are one of several groups called "sac spiders". The holarctic genus Agroeca is the best-known, but it also includes various genera of more obscure spiders that still lack a diagnosis. Two species in the North American genus Neoanagraphis are found in the extremely dry conditions in the Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts. Females live in animal burrows while males wander and are the ones most often caught in pitfall traps.
As of August 2021, the World Spider Catalog accepts the following genera:[2]
Liocranidae is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1897. They are one of several groups called "sac spiders". The holarctic genus Agroeca is the best-known, but it also includes various genera of more obscure spiders that still lack a diagnosis. Two species in the North American genus Neoanagraphis are found in the extremely dry conditions in the Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts. Females live in animal burrows while males wander and are the ones most often caught in pitfall traps.
