The Drymusidae are a small spider family with ten species in one genus. They are also called false violin spiders or leaf-litter spiders. They resemble the violin spider or recluse spider (genus Loxosceles, Sicariidae

Sicariidae

Sicariidae is a family of six-eyed venomous spiders known for their necrotic bites. The members of this family are haplogyne by definition . The family consists of two genera, Loxosceles and Sicarius, and contains about 120 species...

), but other than these build a webhttp://www.museums.org.za/bio/spiderweb/pholicid.htm. Also unlike Loxosceles, which are highly venomous to man, spiders in Drymusidae are not believed to be harmful to humans.

They are grouped within the Scytodoidea

Scytodoidea

The Scytodoidea are a superfamily of spiders. They contain four families of six-eyed spiders:* Drymusidae* Periegopidae* Scytodidae* Sicariidae...

 superfamily together with the Periegopidae

Periegopidae

The spider family Periegopidae consists of only one genus Periegops, with two described species. Periegops had been long considered to be members of Sicariidae or Segestriidae until Raymond Forster evelated them to the family level in 1995....

, Scytodidae and Sicariidae

Sicariidae

Sicariidae is a family of six-eyed venomous spiders known for their necrotic bites. The members of this family are haplogyne by definition . The family consists of two genera, Loxosceles and Sicarius, and contains about 120 species...

.

Distribution

Most species occur in the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 and South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, with two species found in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

.

Species

Drymusa Simon, 1891

• Drymusa armasi Alayón, 1981 (Cuba)
• Drymusa canhemabae Brescovit, Bonaldo & Rheims, 2004 (Brazil)
• Drymusa capensis Simon, 1893 (South Africa)
• Drymusa dinora Valerio, 1971 (Costa Rica)
• Drymusa nubila Simon, 1891 (St. Vincent)
• Drymusa producta Purcell
  William Frederick Purcell
  William Frederick Purcell was a South African arachnologist and biologist.-External links:...
  
  , 1904 (South Africa)
• Drymusa serrana Goloboff & Ramírez, 1992 (Argentina)
• Drymusa silvicola Purcell, 1904 (South Africa)
• Drymusa simoni Bryant, 1948 (Hispaniola)
• Drymusa spectata Alayón, 1981 (Cuba)