The spider family Prodidomidae includes 309 described species (Platnick 2014). The family has a mostly tropical and south temperate distribution, with just two species found in North America north of Mexico (both from the extreme southern portion of this region) (Ubick 2005). One of the two U.S. species, Prodidomus rufus, is believed to be a synanthrope; it is known from China, Japan, New Caledonia, St. Helena, and South America (Platnick 2014) and was probably introduced to the New World (N.I. Platnick pers. comm. cited in Ubick 2005).
Prodidomids are relatively rare and little is known about their habits. They are nocturnal ground-dwellers that seem to prefer relatively arid regions, where they occur under rocks and ground litter and occasionally even turn up in homes (Vetter 1996). These spiders are believed to be closely related to the Gnaphosidae and for more than a decade Prodidomidae was not recognized as a distinct family (Platnick and Shadab 1976; Platnick 1990)
