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The Zodaraiid ground spiders or ant spiders, are a family (Zodaraiidae) of small to medium-sized eight-eyed spiders. They are found world-wide in tropical to warm temperate regions, though there are relatively few species in North America.

Some zodariids are ant mimics. Although ant mimicry is quite common in spiders, the form it takes in the zodariids is unusual because, although each species bears a morphological resemblance to the species of ant that forms its prey, the resemblance is not particularly close. It is enhanced by the spider's behaviour. The spiders live in association with a nest of ants of their prey species, and use their mimicry to enter and leave the nest unmolested (if the ants detected them as intruders they would mass to repel and perhaps kill them). The spiders walk on only the three rear pairs of legs, and if they encounter an ant during their forays into the nest territory, they touch their front legs to the ant's antennae in the same way as another ant would with its own antennae. If they have already captured an ant, they then offer that towards the challenging ant, which inspects it and behaves towards the spider as if it were another ant carrying a dead conspecific away from the nest (a common behaviour among ants).

It is likely that the spiders also derive some protection against predation from their similarity to the ants, since ants are unpalatable to many species that eat spiders.

The categorization into subfamilies follows Joel Hallan's Biology Catalog.

• Cydrelinae Simon, 1893

• Cyriocteinae Jocqu?, 1991

• Cyrioctea Simon, 1889

• Lachesaninae Jocqu?, 1991

• Antillorena Jocqu?, 1991
• Australutica Jocqu?, 1995
• Lachesana Strand, 1932
• Lutica Marx, 1891

• Sterenomorphinae Simon, 1893

• Chariobas Simon, 1893
• Cicynethus Simon, 1910
• Madrela Jocqu?, 1991
• Storenomorpha Simon, 1884
• Thaumastochilus Simon, 1897

• Storeninae Simon, 1893

• Amphiledorus Jocqu? & Bosmans, 2001
• Asceua Thorell, 1887
• Asteron Jocqu?, 1991
• Basasteron Baehr, 2003
• Cavasteron Baehr & Jocqu?, 2000
• Chilumena Jocqu?, 1995
• Cybaeodamus Mello-Leit?o, 1938
• Euasteron Baehr, 2003
• Forsterella Jocqu?, 1991
• Habronestes L. Koch, 1872
• Hermippus Simon, 1893
• Hetaerica Rainbow, 1916
• Ishania Chamberlin, 1925
• Leprolochus Simon, 1893
• Leptasteron Baehr & Jocqu?, 2001
• Mallinella Strand, 1906
• Minasteron Baehr & Jocqu?, 2000
• Neostorena Rainbow, 1914
• Nostera Jocqu?, 1991
• Pax Levy, 1990
• Pentasteron Baehr & Jocqu?, 2001
• Phenasteron Baehr & Jocqu?, 2001
• Platnickia Jocqu?, 1991
• Pseudasteron Jocqu? & Baehr, 2001
• Selamia Simon, 1873
• Spinasteron Baehr, 2003
• Storena Walckenaer, 1805
• Storosa Jocqu?, 1991
• Subasteron Baehr & Jocqu?, 2001
• Tenedos O. P.-Cambridge, 1897
• Tropasteron Baehr, 2003
• Zillimata Jocqu?, 1995

• Zodariinae Thorell, 1881

• Akyttara Jocqu?, 1987
• Diores Simon, 1893
• Dusmadiores Jocqu?, 1987
• Heradida Simon, 1893
• Mallinus Simon, 1893
• Mastidiores Jocqu?, 1987
• Microdiores Jocqu?, 1987
• Palaestina O. P.-Cambridge, 1872
• Palfuria Simon, 1910
• Ranops Jocqu?, 1991
• Suffasia Jocqu?, 1991
• Trygetus Simon, 1882
• Zodarion Walckenaer, 1826

• incertae sedis

• Adjutor Petrunkevitch, 1942 ? (fossil)
• Admissor Petrunkevitch, 1942 ? (fossil)
• Anniculus Petrunkevitch, 1942 ? (fossil)
• Colima Jocqu? & Baert, 2006
• Cryptothele L. Koch, 1872 (Southeast Asia)
• Epicratinus Jocqu? & Baert, 2006
• Euryeidon Dankittipakul & Jocqu?, 2004
• Heradion Dankittipakul & Jocqu?, 2004
• Holasteron Baehr, 2004
• Masasteron Baehr, 2003
• Notasteron Baehr, 2001
• Tropizodium Jocqu? & Churchill, 2005
• Zodariellum Andreeva & Tyschchenko, 1968

See also

• List of Zodariidae species
• Spider families

External links

• Full species and range listing available at the World Spider Catalog entry for Zodariidae
• Pictures of Zodariidae: Neostorena sp. Storena formosa S. obscura

The Family Zodariidae is a member of the Superfamily Palpimanoidea. Here is the complete "parentage" of Zodariidae:

• Domain: Eukaryota Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
  • Kingdom: Animalia C. Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
    • Subkingdom: Bilateria (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
      • Branch: Protostomia Grobben, 1908 - protostomes
        • Infrakingdom: Ecdysozoa A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - ecdysozoans
          • Superphylum: Panarthropoda Cuvier
            • Phylum: Arthropoda Latreille, 1829 - Arthropods
              • Subphylum: Arachnomorpha Heider, 1913
                • Infraphylum: Cheliceriformes
                  • Superclass: Chelicerata
                    • Class: Arachnida Cuvier, 1812 - Arachnids
                      • Subclass: Micrura
                        • Order: Araneae C. Clerck, 1757 - Spiders
                          • Suborder: Opisthothelae Pocock, 1892 - Modern Spiders
                            • Infraorder: Araneomorphae Smith, 1902
                              • Superfamily: Palpimanoidea
                                • Family: Zodariidae Thorell, 1881