Amaurobiids are mostly nondescript, three-clawed spiders found in crevices and hollows or under stones where they build retreats. They have eight eyes in two rows, and are mostly brown in colour. Some augment their burrows with a minimal sheet web. They are often collected in pitfall traps. Unlidded burrows are sometimes quite obvious in crusty, loamy soil, for example Dardarus spp. Some amaurobiids have a cribellum on the underneath of the abdomen for producing woolly, hackled silk. Some species don't have a cribellum. They can be tiny to medium-sized (1 to 12 mm). In recent times Amaurobiidae has lost some genera and gained some others in wide-ranging changes to spider families resulting from DNA analysis. The family lost Bakala and Manjala to Desidae, while Toxopidae took in Jamara and Midgee. Amaurobiidae gained some of Australia's medium-sized brown spiders in the former family Amphinectidae (Tasmabrochus, Tasmarubrius and Teeatta). These genera are fairly common in Tasmania and nearby mainland Australia in cooler rainforests, some in caves. Other genera remaining in Amaurobiidae are widespread but uncommon along the eastern coastline. The genera and numbers of species in Amaurobiidae as of late 2021 were Dardarus (6), Daviesa (2), Oztira (4), Storenosoma (13), Tasmabrochus (3), Tasmarubrius (5), Teeatta (5) and Wabarra (2).
- Tasmarubrius sp. Mt Field Tasmania
- Tasmarubrius sp. Hobart Tasmania
- Tasmarubrius sp. Gowan Brae Central Highlands, Tasmania
- Dardurus sp. burrows Whites Hill Greater Brisbane
- Storenosoma female Hill Top NSW
- Storenosoma male Hill Top NSW
- References
Tasmarubrius sp. Mt Field Tasmania
Tasmarubrius sp. Hobart Tasmania
Tasmarubrius sp. Gowan Brae Central Highlands, Tasmania
Dardurus sp. burrows Whites Hill Greater Brisbane
Storenosoma female Hill Top NSW
Storenosoma male Hill Top NSW
References
- Milledge. Graham 2011 - A Revision of Storenosoma Hogg and Description of a New Genus, Oztira (Araneae: Amaurobiidae)
- Davies 2003 - TANGANA, A NEW SPIDER GENUS FROM AUSTRALIA (AMAUROBIOIDEA: AMPHINECTIDAE: TASMARUBRIINAEI)
- Davies 1988 - A revision of the Australian metaltellines (Araneae : Amaurobioidea : Amphinectidae : Metaltellinae) These are now Desidae