Giant  Goblin  Spiders  -  Family:  Orsolobidae
​     In 1965 the Dysderoidea were still considered to be a family and the Orsolobini were proposed as on of four tribes within it.  In 1985, Forster and Platnick published a review of this group of spiders which also included considerable reshuffling of various genera.  The Family: Dysderidae was elevated to superfamily and the Orsolobini gained status as a family.   It now contains 189  species in 30 genera, 4 of which are endemic to Australia, 16 to  New Zealand and the others to either Africa or South America; a 'Gondwanan distribution'. The Northern rivers contingent is limited to ten species from three genera.  
      Despite the generic name, Orsolobid spiders are no giants, most small spiders no bigger than 5 mm in bodylength.  They are regularly seen in eastern Australia from Geelong to Cape Tribulation in northern Queensland, as well as in south-west W.A.  With regards to their life history not a lot is known although some species of the Genus: Tasmanoonops build a small, single entrance shelter for themselves in which the female lays her eggs and remains to guard them.  They feed on small invertebrates such as springtails, amphipods and insect larvae which they actively hunt; Orsolobids do not build webs.
      The Orsolobidae are also known as Six-eyed Ground Spiders, a more apt moniker, as they are found among leaf litter on the forest floor where the scavenge for their prey.  They are easily mistaken for Goblin Spiders (Oonopidae) and Woodlouse Hunters (Dysderidae) particularly in Victoria to Central N.S.W.  where there is range overlap between the familes.  Note also that some of the genera now placed in the Orsolobidae were taken from either of the two others further highlighting their similarity.
      Australobus torbay      

​    
      Hickmanolobus ibisca
      Hickmanolobus linnaei

      
      Hickmanolobus nimorakiotakisi     (possible occurrence)
      Tasmanoonops complexus

​
      Tasmanoonops dorrigo
      Tasmanoonops mysticus
      Tasmanoonops parvus
      Tasmanoonops ripus     (possible occurrence)
      Tasmanoonops rogerkitchingi     (likely occurrence)

Taxonomy:
​
Phylum:   Arthropoda   (Arthropods)
          > Subphylum:   Chelicerata   (Chelicerates)
                    > Class:   Arachnida   (Arachnids) 
                                        > Order:   Aranea   (Spiders)
                                                  > Suborder:   Araneomorphae   (Typical Spiders)
​                                                            > Infraorder:   Haplogynae   (Haplogyne Spiders)
                                                                      > Superfamily:   Dysderoidea   (Goblin-, Tunnel  Spiders and Allies)
                                                                                > Family:   Orsolobidae   (Giant Goblin Spiders)
                                                                                                              > Genus:   Australobus
                                                                                                                        > Species:   A. torbay
                                                                                                              > Genus:   Hickmanolobus
                                                                                                                        > Species:   H. ibisca
                                                                                                                        > Species:   H. linnaei
                                                                                                                        > Species:   H. nimorakiotakisi  ^
                                                                                                              > Genus:   Tasmanoonops
                                                                                                                        > Species:   T. complexus
                                                                                                                        > Species:   T. dorrigo
                                                                                                                        > Species:   T. mysticus
                                                                                                                        > Species:   T. parvus
                                                                                                                        > Species:   T. ripus  ^
                                                                                                                        > Species:   T. rogerkitchingi  *

*  =  likely
^  =  possibly
References  and  links:
​
>      Baehr, B., Raven, R. and Hebron, W.,  (2011).   'Orsolobidae (Araneae) of the IBISCA-Queensland Project at Lamington National Park, Australia.'    Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 55, 2, 2011
>      Baehr, B. and Smith, H., (2008).  'Three New Species of the Australian Orsolobid Spider Genus Hickmanolobus (Araneae: Orsolobidae)',  Records of the Western Australian Museum, 24, 4, 2008 
>      Cooke, J.A.L.,  (1965).   'Spider genus Dysdera (Araneae, Dysderidae).'   Nature 205: 1027-1028.
​>      Forster, R.R.   and  Platnick, N.I.,  (1985).    'A review of the austral spider family Orsolobidae (Arachnida, Araneae), with notes on the superfamily Dysderoidea.'  Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 181: 1-230.
>     Framenau, V.W., Baehr, B.C. and Zborowski, P. (2014).   'A Guide to the Spiders of Australia.'  New Holland Publishers, Sydney.
​
​      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondwana

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