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Uloboridae is a family of spiders known as Cribellate Orb Weavers or Hackled Orbweavers. Also known as Venomless Spiders (a spider family group without venom), the Uloboridae have sensitive hairs that detect the slightest of air movement. The front legs of the Uloborids are usually long, often longer than the entire length of their body.

Cribellate Orb Weaver (family Uloboridae), Alice Springs NT
Cribellate Orb Weaver (family Uloboridae), Alice Springs NT

They have a silk producing plate and a calamistrum (a row of specialized leg bristles used to comb out fine bands of silk), that is only found on cribellate spiders. Cribellate silk (also known as hackled silk) is feathery and fuzzy in appearance.

Cribellate Orb Weaver (family Uloboridae), Alice Springs NT
Cribellate Orb Weaver (family Uloboridae), Alice Springs NT

At the time of writing this, there were 12 recognised species of Hackled Orb-weavers in five genera currently recognised in Australia.1

Cribellate Orb Weaver (family Uloboridae), Alice Springs NT
Cribellate Orb Weaver (family Uloboridae), Alice Springs NT
Cribellate Orb Weaver (family Uloboridae), Alice Springs NT
Cribellate Orb Weaver (family Uloboridae), Alice Springs NT

  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Chelicerata
  • Class: Arachnida
  • Order: Araneae
  • Infraorder: Araneomorphae
  • Family: Uloboridae
  • Diversity:
  • 19 genera, 337 species

Footnote & References

  1. Hackled orb-weavers, Australian Museum, https://australian.museum/learn/animals/spiders/hackled-orb-weavers/
  2. ULOBORIDAE Venomless spiders, Arachne.org.au, https://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=1610
  3. Uloboridae, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uloboridae (last visited Dec. 16, 2022).
  4. Hackled Orbweavers Family Uloboridae, iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/121468-Uloboridae

Alice Springs SpidersAustralian Golden Orb Weaver Australian Huntsman Spiders (Sparassidae) Backobourkines Banded Garden Spider Beautiful Badge Huntsman (Neosparassus calligaster) Cytaea sp Desert Huntsman Spider Elegant Water Spider (Dolomedes facetus) Euryopis sp Gnaphosid (Ground Spider) Hackled Orb-weavers (Uloboridae) Hogna crispipes Hortophora sp Long-jawed Orb Weavers (Tetragnatha) Long-tailed St. Andrew’s Cross Spider (Argiope protensa) Lynx Spider (Oxyopidae) Miturgidae (Elassoctenus spp) Neosparassus sp Oecobius sp Orange-legged Swift Spider (Nyssus coloripes) Orbweavers (Araneidae) Red-headed Mouse Spider Redback Spider (Latrodectus hasselti) Sondra aurea Uloboridae (Cribellate Orb Weavers) Wall Spider (Oecobius sp) Zodariidae

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