Macrobunidae


Macrobunidae is a family of araneomorph spiders. It was treated as a subfamily of Amaurobiidae until elevated to a full family based on a 2023 molecular phylogenetic study.

Taxonomy

A 2023 molecular phylogenetic study of the 'marronoid' group of initially nine spider families led to a changed circumscription of some of the families, including two resurrected or new families, Cicurinidae and Macrobunidae. The relationships in the study's maximum likelihood summary tree are shown below. The subfamily Macrobuninae was originally created as part of the family Amaurobiidae, but in the study was shown to be a monophyletic group well removed from Amaurobiidae. Accordingly it was raised to family rank.

Genera

, this family includes 27 genera and 95 species:
Members of the 'marronoid' group of spiders are generally relatively small, brownish, and without striking morphological features. Macrobunidae species vary in whether they have a cribellum or not. Usually, cribellate macrobunids have an undivided cribellum, although some have a cribellum divided into two parts. Ecribellate macrobunids have a colulus in place of the cribellum. The tibiae of the male palp usually have multiple apophyses. The retrolateral tibial apophysis has a branch which engages with a stridulatory area on the cymbium.