Phyxelididae

Phyxelididae is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Pekka T. Lehtinen in 1967 as a subfamily of Amaurobiidae,^[1] and later elevated to family status as a sister group of Titanoecidae.^[2]

Life style

As of October 2025, this family includes fourteen genera:^[3]

Ambohima Griswold, 1990 – Madagascar
Kulalania Griswold, 1990 – Kenya
Lamaika Griswold, 1990 – South Africa
Malaika Lehtinen, 1967 – South Africa
Manampoka Griswold, Wood & Carmichael, 2012 – Madagascar
Matundua Lehtinen, 1967 – South Africa
Namaquarachne Griswold, 1990 – South Africa
Phyxelida Simon, 1894 – Eastern Africa, South Africa, Israel, Turkey, Cyprus, East Africa
Pongolania Griswold, 1990 – South Africa
Rahavavy Griswold, Wood & Carmichael, 2012 – Madagascar
Themacrys Simon, 1906 – Lesotho, South Africa
Vidole Lehtinen, 1967 – Lesotho, South Africa
Vytfutia Deeleman-Reinhold, 1986 – Madagascar, Indonesia, Malaysia
Xevioso Lehtinen, 1967 – Malawi, Mozambique, Eswatini, South Africa, Zimbabwe

^ Lehtinen, P. T. (1967). "Classification of the cribellate spiders and some allied families, with notes on the evolution of the suborder Araneomorpha". Annales Zoologici Fennici. 4: 199–468.
^ Griswold, C. E.; Coddington, J. A.; Platnick, N. I.; Forster, R. R.; et al. (1999). "Towards a phylogeny of entelegyne spiders (Araneae, Araneomorphae, Entelegynae)" (PDF). Journal of Arachnology. 27: 53–63.
^ "Family: Phyxelididae Lehtinen, 1967". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-09.