Family TROCHANTERIIDAE Karsch, 1879

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Introduction

These are the masters of flatness, some spiders being so thin as to be transparent; the flattened legs, like those of other spiders that live and hunt under bark are laterigrade. They bear strong resemblance to the other flat spiders included in Gnaphosoidea, viz. Hemicloea and indeed some trochanteriid species were originally placed in that genus. Unless Hemicloea, the trochanteriids have claw tufts and adeptly climb very smooth surfaces on which Hemicloea would slip. The family group name, assigned for a spider with very long fourth trochanters, is not strongly reflected in the Australian spiders.

Diagnosis

Flattened gnaphosoid spiders with laterigrade legs, 2 claws and true claw tufts. They are easily distinguished from very similar gnaphosid Hemicloeinae which lack true tufts and, unlike the trochanteriids, cannot climb glass or smooth surfaces.

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