Amaurobioides

Amaurobioides
A. maritima from New Zealand
A. africana, adult female
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Anyphaenidae
Genus:	AmaurobioidesO. Pickard-Cambridge, 1883
A. maritimaO. Pickard-Cambridge, 1883
12, see text
Cluilius

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Amaurobioides is a genus of anyphaenid sac spiders first described by O. Pickard-Cambridge in 1883.

The genus Amaurobioides shows a remarkable disjunct distribution across the Southern Hemisphere, with species found along the rocky coastlines of South Africa, Namibia, Madagascar, New Zealand, Australia, Tasmania, and Chile.

Hewitt (1917) proposed that the wide distribution might be explained through passive dispersal on floating seaweeds, facilitated by the ocean currents of the southern oceans. This hypothesis is supported by the genus's ecological preferences for intertidal zones and their ability to survive submersion in waterproof silk-lined retreats. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current and various equatorial currents in the Indian Ocean could provide mechanisms for such long-distance dispersal, potentially transporting spiders on drifting algae between continents.

As of October 2025, this genus includes twelve species:

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