Editing Crevice weaver (section)

{{Short description|Family of spiders}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Neogene|present}}
| name = Crevice weavers
| image = Kukulcania hibernalis male.jpg
| image_caption = ''[[Kukulcania hibernalis]]'', male
| image2 = Filistatid web (Marshal Hedin).jpg
| image2_caption = Filistatid web
| taxon = Filistatidae
| authority = [[Anton Ausserer|Ausserer]], 1867
| range_map = Distribution.filistatidae.1.png
| range_map_caption = Distribution is approximate
| diversity = [[#Taxonomy|19 genera]], [[List of Filistatidae species|185 species]]
}}
'''Crevice weaver spiders''' ('''Filistatidae''') comprise [[cribellate]] spiders with features that have been regarded as "[[Primitive (phylogenetics)|primitive]]" for [[araneomorph]] spiders. They are weavers of funnel or tube webs. The family contains 18 [[genera]] and more than 120 described species worldwide.

One of the most abundant members of this family in the [[Americas]] is the [[southern house spider]] (''Kukulcania hibernalis''). Named after the fierce [[Mesoamerica|Meso-American]] god [[Kukulkan]], the females are large (up to nearly 20&nbsp;mm) dark-colored spiders and males are light brown, smaller (about 10&nbsp;mm), but more long-legged and with [[Pedipalp|palps]] that are held together in front of their [[carapace]]s like the horn of a [[unicorn]]. The males also have a darker streak on the center of the [[Dorsum (biology)|dorsal]] carapace that causes them to be often mistaken for [[brown recluse spider]]s. The tiny members of the genus ''Filistatinella'' are like miniature versions of ''Kukulcania''. The nominate genus ''Filistata'' is [[Afro-Eurasia]]n in distribution. In many older books the species from the Americas now placed in the genus ''Kukulcania'' are placed in ''Filistata''.

A striking visual characteristic of the family, beside dimorphism, is the unusual upward bend encountered near the femur of the first pair of legs. While resembling hydraulic muscle mechanisms akin to arthropods, this modification actually allows the spider to retain the prey directly from the crevice it occupies. Also, if the larger prey ever tries to pull it from the crevice, the spider can use these legs to "grab" to the side walls and hence make it difficult. Many ''Kukulcania'' species also use them to dig holes in the soft ground at a 25- to 30-degree angle.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}