ARANEIDAE Clerck, 1757

Downen, Matthew R. & Selden, Paul A., 2020, Fossil spiders (Araneae) from the Eocene Kishenehn Formation of Montana, USA, Palaeontologia Electronica (a 56) 23 (3), pp. 1-10 : 4

Family ARANEIDAE Clerck, 1757

Remarks. The following fossils are placed in the family Araneidae based on the following characteristics: three clawed, entelegyne, ecribellate, long slender legs, and a shortest third pair of legs. The spiders lack a tarsal comb on the fourth tarsus and possesses spine-like macrosetae on some ti and mt, excluding them from Theridiidae . The spiders also lack a calamistrum and femoral trichobothria excluding them from Uloboridae . The spiders are excluded from Linyphiidae by lacking a single mt trichobothrium on Legs I–IV (although this just may not be visible), and by possessing sternum that does not extend beyond coxa IV and tarsi that are tapering rather than cylindrical.