Progradungula is a spider genus of the family Gradungulidae

Gradungulidae

The Gradungulidae are a small spider family of Australia and New Zealand with 16 species in seven genera. They are medium to large three-clawed haplogyne spiders with two pairs of book-lungs ....

. It is remarkable for being the first web-building cribellate spider that was found within a "primitive" araneomorph

Araneomorphae

The Araneomorphae are a suborder of spiders. They are distinguished by having fangs that oppose each other and cross in a pinching action, in contrast to the Mygalomorphae , which have fangs that are nearly parallel in alignment.- Distinguishing characteristics :Note the difference in the...

 spider family. This helped to establish the idea that all araneomorph spiders evolved from cribellate ancestors. This genus is endemic

Endemic (ecology)

Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...

 to parts of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Name

From Latin pro "before", and the genus name Gradungula

Gradungula

Gradungula sorenseni, the only species in the spider genus Gradungula, occurs in New Zealand and the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia.-Name:...

, referring to the ancient ancestry of the genus.

Species

• Progradungula carraiensis
  Progradungula carraiensis
  Progradungula carraiensis, or Carrai cave spider, is a cribellate spider found only in the moist forests and limestone caves of the Carrai Plateau in northern New South Wales.These spiders are 8 to 12 mm long, with long and slender legs...
  
  Forster & Gray, 1979 (New South Wales)
• Progradungula otwayensis Milledge, 1997 (Victoria)