Dwarf  Sheet  Spiders -  Family:  Hahniidae
      Found in the temperate to tropical zones of all continents except Antarctica, the Hahnid Spiders are most prevalent in Europe and North America.  Other locations have only sparse records.   First described as a family by the German zoologist Philip Bertkau - (1849 - 1895) - the Family: Hahniidae now counts 23 genera containing 354 species as of November 2023.  Species of three genera may be found in Australia. 
      As their name suggests, the Dwarf Sheet Spiders are small, very small with a bodylength not often exceeding 2 mm or so.  Preferring to dwell among leaf litter and other detritus, they are often found where there is water or, at least, a moist environment.  They typically have six spinnerets aligned in a horizontal row at the rear of the abdomen with the outer ones longer than the others.

      They produce tiny sheet-like webs from extremely fine silk which are very hard to spot unless one is close to the ground and looking very early in the morning when the webs may still be covered in dew.  The webs are produced for catching prey only, it does not have a little 'retreat' for the spider to withdraw into.   Many of these little spiders are quite nicely coloured and some, due to their small size often appear translucent. 
​Undoubtedly, many species of this group of tiny spiders still remain to be discovered.
      The family, as well as the type-genus was named after Carl Wilhelm Hahn (1786-1835), a German zoologist who between the years 1820 and 1836 published the first monograph on spiders in German. Produced in eight instalments over 16 years, in editions of no more than 100, this series of publications is now a rarity with only 14 incomplete sets remaining.   Each instalment was beautifully illustrated in colour by Hahn himself.  Possibly because of the rarity of this set of works, Hahn is not terribly well-known nowadays, even amongst arachnologists and other spider enthusiasts.
      Allistra sp.     (possible occurrence)

​    
      Scotospilus ampularius     (possible occurrence)

Taxonomy:
​
Phylum:   Arthropoda   (Arthropods)
          > Subphylum:   Chelicerata   (Chelicerates)
                    > Class:   Arachnida   (Arachnids) 
                                        > Order:   Aranea   (Spiders)
                                                  > Suborder:   Araneomorphae   (Typical Spiders)
                                                            > Infraorder:   Entelegynea   (Entelegyne Spiders)
                                                                      > Superfamily:   Dictynoidea   (Meshweavers and Allies)
                                                                                > Family:   Hahniidae   (Dwarf Sheet Spiders)
​​ ​                                                                                                           > Genus:   Allistra  ^
                                                                                                                      > Species:   ?
 ​                                                                                                           > Genus:   Scotospilus
                                                                                                                      > Species:   S. ampularius  ^

*  =  likely
^  =  possibly
References  and  links:
​​
>      Bertkau, P.,  (1878).    'Attempt at a natural arrangement of spiders, along with comments on individual genera.'  Archives of Natural History 44 : 351-410.
>      Frances, M.,  Murphy, J.A.  and  Roberts, M.J.,   (2000).  'An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia with Notes on all the Genera.'     Kuala Lumpur Malaysia: Malaysian Nature Society.

      https://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=2153
       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Wilhelm_Hahn

Photographic   contributions:

Note:  Copyright rules vary.  Please contact the editor prior to using any of the images published on this site.