Selenopidae

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title: "Selenopidae" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["selenopidae", "araneomorphae-families"] description: "Family of spiders" topic_path: "general/selenopidae" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenopidae" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Family of spiders ::

| name = Wall spiders | image = Selenops ansieae 298338208 537377282.jpg | image_caption = Female Selenops ansieae | image2 = Anyphops lucia 312622014 564463784.jpg | image2_caption = Female Anyphops lucia | fossil_range = | taxon = Selenopidae | authority = Simon, 1897 | diversity = 9 genera, 282 species | range_map = Selenopidae range map.svg | range_map_caption = blue: reported countries (WSC) green: observation hotspots (iNaturalist)

Selenopidae, also called wall crab spiders, wall spiders and flatties, is a family of nocturnal, free-ranging, araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1897. It contains over 281 species in nine genera, of which Selenops is the most well-known.

This family is just one of several families whose English name includes the phrase "crab spider". These spiders are often called "Flatties" due to their flattened dorsal profile. The Afrikaans name for these spiders is "Muurspinnekop," which translates directly to "wall spider." The name Selenopidae comes from the greek moon goddess, Selene, as their eyes resemble the moon.

Description

Anyphops lawrencei 309415309 558345479.jpg|female Anyphops lawrencei Anyphops lawrencei 300884858 542164045.jpg|male Anyphops lawrencei

They are a variety of colors, including shades of grey, brown, yellow, and orange, with darker markings on the cephalothorax and spots or mottling on the abdomen, and annulations on the legs of most species. It is thought they mimic both lichens or rocks in their area. They are very flat dorsoventrally, and have two tarsal claws and laterigrade legs. Each of their legs face a different direction. Like most other Entelegynae, they have eight eyes arranged in two rows; one with six and one with two.

Although they are usually sedentary, their running and striking speeds place them among the world’s fastest animals, making them difficult to capture, while their coloring often makes them difficult to see. Their spin is the fastest leg-driven turning maneuver of any terrestrial animal, being able to strike their prey in an eighth of a second (three times the speed of a blink); therefore, the spiders' spins are being used by researchers in robotics applications. Dr. Zeng of UC Merced claims that the flattie spiders' "outward stance," which "tracks parallel to the ground" allows them to spin rapidly, giving them a "wider range of unrestricted motion."

Habitat

They occur worldwide, from sea level to over 2500 m, and are primarily tropical and subtropical, though several species are found in deserts. They are commonly found on walls or under rocks. Selenops is the most widely distributed and Anyphops is found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. The remaining genera have more specific distributions. At least one (possibly extinct) species of Garcorops, G. jadis, is known only from subfossil copal.

Genera

Karaops francesae.jpg|Karaops francesae Selenops formosanus 20190805 061918 vHDR On 1.jpg|Siamspinops formosensis

, this family includes nine genera and 282 species:

• Amamanganops Crews & Harvey, 2011 – Philippines
• Anyphops Benoit, 1968 – Africa
• Garcorops Corronca, 2003 – Comoros, Madagascar
• Godumops Crews & Harvey, 2011 – Papua New Guinea
• Hovops Benoit, 1968 – Madagascar
• Karaops Crews & Harvey, 2011 – Australia
• Makdiops Crews & Harvey, 2011 – India, Nepal
• Selenops Latreille, 1819 – Africa, Asia, North America, South America
• Siamspinops Dankittipakul & Corronca, 2009 – China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, India

References

References

1. "Family: Selenopidae Simon, 1897". World Spider Catalog.
2. "Selenopidae (wall crab spiders, flatties)".
3. (2004). "A new Garcorops species from Madagascar copal (Araneae: Selenopidae)". Zootaxa.
4. (2011). "The spider family Selenopidae (Arachnida, Araneae) in Australasia and the Oriental Region". ZooKeys.
5. "Fastest spin on Earth? For animals that rely on legs, scientists say one spider takes gold".
6. Dippenaar-Schoeman, Ansie. (2014). "A Field Guide to the Spiders of South Africa". LAPA Publishers.
7. "SELENOPIDAE Flatties". Arachne.org.au.
8. Simon, E.. (1897). "Histoire naturelle des araignées".
9. (2006). "Spider families of the world". ARC-PPRI, Tervuren.
10. "Common Wall Spider".

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