Desidae

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Desidae is a family of spiders, some of which are known as intertidal spiders. The family is named for the genus Desis, members of which inhabit the intertidal zone. The family has been reevaluated in recent years and now includes inland genera and species as well, such as Badumna and Phryganoporus.

In 2017, the family Amphinectidae was merged into Desidae and the family Toxopidae was separated from it.<ref name=wheeler /> Those intertidal spiders that are truly marine commonly live in barnacle shells, which they seal up with silk; this allows them to maintain an air bubble during high tide. They emerge at night to feed on various small arthropods that live in the intertidal zone.

Distribution

As now circumscribed, the family Desidae is mainly found in South America and Australasia, with some species reaching north to Malaysia.<ref name=wsc />

Metaltella simoni has been introduced in a large part of the Southern United States (records exist from California, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida). It is feared that it could extirpate the native titanoecid species Titanoeca brunnea.<ref name=edwards />

Genera

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See also

References

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