The sac spiders of the family Clubionidae are nocturnal, sac-building hunting spiders with a near-worldwide distribution. Their sacs, silken retreats in which they hide during the day, may be made in a variety of places, including between folded leaves or grass blades, under bark and below rocks or other ground litter. Although formerly a much larger catch-all taxon, in its current definition the family contains less than 700 described species across 18 genera, of which Clubiona is by far most species-rich, with 528 accepted species.

Taxonomy

The Clubionidae have a complex taxonomic history. Historically, the family was a large catch-all taxon for a variety of spiders that shared the following morphological and behavioral similarities: having eight eyes arranged in two rows; having conical anterior spinnerets that touched; and being nocturnal wandering predators that build "sacs" to retreat to during the day. A large number of genera have been transferred from Clubionidae to other families, and several former subfamilies of the Clubionidae are now treated as separate families. The Zoropsidae, to which genera Anachemmis, Lauricius and Liocranoides were transferred, is much more closely related to the lynx spiders of family Oxyopidae than to the remaining Clubionidae. According to 2023 cladistic research by Siddharth Kulkarni, Hannah M. Wood and Gustavo Hormiga, the remaining Clubionidae remain polyphyletic as a result of the current placement of genus Elaver.

Genera

, the Clubionidae consist of over 665 species in 18 genera worldwide, with by far the majority of species in genus Clubiona. The following genera are accepted by the World Spider Catalog: Additionally, the World Spider Catalog considers Carteroniella Strand, 1907 to be a nomen dubium.