Araneidae Clerck, 1757

Family |   ACCEPTED

N.B.: family name and authorship as per ICZN, 2009 Opinion 2224, after application by Kluge, 2007; Arkyinae L. Koch, 1872 (genera Arkys Walckenaer, 1837 and Demadiana Strand, 1929) elevated to Arkyidae by Dimitrov et al., 2017: 244; monophyly of Araneidae stated by Kallal et al., 2018: 138; Nephilinae Simon, 1894 [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spiderfam:0111] elevated to family and relimited by Kuntner, 2006: 24, re-synonymized with Araneidae by Dimitrov et al., 2017: 244; Nephilinae and Phonognathinae Simon, 1894 (Simon, 1894a: 746 as Phonognatheae), the valid name for Zygiellinae Simon, 1929 sensu Wunderlich, 2004f, elevated to family by Kuntner et al., 2019: 563, not accepted by Scharff et al., 2020 and Kallal et al., 2020, and confirmed as family by Kuntner et al., 2023: 969-970 along with the separation of Paraplectanoididae Kuntner, Coddington, Agnarsson & Bond, 2023; Nephilinae and Phonognathinae downgraded to subfamily and Paraplectanoididae considered a synonym of Araneidae by Hormiga et al., 2023: 803; family status of Paraplectanoididae, Nephilidae and Phonognathidae revalidated by Kuntner et al., 2025: 17, 23, but not accepted here for reasons of stability; Oarcinae (Gnolus and Oarces) transferred from the Mimetidae to the Araneidae by Dimitrov et al., 2012: Suppl. 1, p. 15, re-transfer to the Mimetidae by Eskov & Marusik, 2023: 340 not accepted here (by majority vote of the WSC boards); Eskov & Marusik, 2023: 241 and Eskov & Marusik, 2024: 52 consider Zygiellidae as the valid name instead of Phonognathidae and accept the family status of Nephilidae; the status of the Nephilinae and Phonognathinae (= Zygiellidae) as subfamilies is accepted by majority vote of the WSC boards; Eskov & Marusik, 2024: 52 list ten subfamilies and tribes as valid (besides Nephilidae and Zygiellidae): Araneinae, Argiopinae Simon, 1890a: 81 (sub Argiopidae), Cyrtarachninae Simon, 1895a: 876 (sub Cyrtarachneae), Сyrtophorinae Simon, 1895a: 876 (sub Cyrtophoreae), Gasteracanthinae O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1871e: 217 (sub Gasteracanthides), Micratheninae Simon, 1895a: 848 (sub Micratheneae), Guizygiellinae Zhu, Song & Zhang, 2003: 42, Caerostrini Simon, 1895a: 831 (sub Cerostreae), Hypognathini Simon, 1895a: 871 (sub Hypognatheae) and Poltyini Simon, 1895a: 888 (sub Poltyeae).

Gen. Pozonia Schenkel, 1953 urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidergen:01547
type Pozonia cornuta Schenkel, 1953; gender feminine; syn. of Pozonia nigroventris (Bryant, 1936)

In synonymy:

Pozonia cornuta Schenkel, 1953 = Pozonia nigroventris (Bryant, 1936) (Levi, 1993b: 62)

Pozonia granadensis (Mello-Leitão, 1941, T from Kaira) = Pozonia nigroventris (Bryant, 1936) (Levi, 1993b: 62)

Pozonia andujari Alayón, 2007 | | Hispaniola urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:040051
Pozonia andujari Alayón, 2007: 42, f. 1-4 (Df) Original description
Pozonia andujari Estrada-Alvarez, 2015: 54, f. 24-27 (f)
Pozonia bacillifera (Simon, 1897) | | Trinidad, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:016984
Araneus bacillifer Simon, 1895a: 819, f. 870 (nomen nudum)
Araneus bacillifer Simon, 1897b: 475 (Df) Original description
Aranea bacillifera Strand, 1916b: 110
Pozonia bacillifera Levi, 1993b: 60, f. 11-14 (f, T from Wixia)
Pozonia bacillifera Magalhaes & Santos, 2011a: 112, f. 1-5 (Dm)
Pozonia bacillifera Estrada-Alvarez, 2015: 54, f. 16-19 (f)
Pozonia bacillifera Díaz-Guevara & Dupérré, 2025: 592, f. 4A-E (m)
Pozonia balam Estrada-Alvarez, 2015 | | Mexico urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:048202
Pozonia balam Estrada-Alvarez, 2015: 52, f. 1-11 (Df) Original description
Pozonia dromedaria (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1893) | | Mexico to Panama urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:016985
Kaira dromedaria O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1893b: 115, pl. 14, f. 9 (Df) Original description
Kaira dromedaria F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1904: 522, pl. 51, f. 11 (f)
Pozonia dromedaria Levi, 1993b: 60, f. 7-10 (f, T from Kaira)
Pozonia dromedaria Estrada-Alvarez, 2015: 54, f. 12-15 (f)
Pozonia nigroventris (Bryant, 1936) | | Mexico to Venezuela, Cuba, Jamaica urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:016986
Wixia nigroventris Bryant, 1936b: 329, pl. 23, f. 10 (Dj) Original description
Wixia nigriventris Bryant, 1940: 346, f. 113 (Dm, lapsus)
Kaira granadensis Mello-Leitão, 1941a: 118 (Df; j per Levi, 1993b: 62) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:057916]
Pozonia cornuta Schenkel, 1953a: 25, f. 23a-d (Dj) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:057915]
Pozonia nigroventris Levi, 1993b: 62, f. 15-26 (m, Df, T from Wixia, S of Kaira granadensis and Pozonia cornuta)
Pozonia nigroventris Levi, 2002: 557, f. 284-286 (m)
Pozonia nigroventris Estrada-Alvarez, 2015: 54, f. 20-23 (f)
Pozonia nigroventris Sherwood, Blick & Ballarin, 2025: 48 (S of Pozonia cornuta confirmed)

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