They are accomplished ambush predators that spend most of their time in a sock-like, silken retreat on the ground from where they kill their prey.

Atypus builds a silken tube parallel to the surface of the ground.

During the breeding season for A. affinis, the male leaves his own burrow and goes in search of females.

The next summer, the eggs hatch, and the spring after that, the spiderlings leave their mother's burrow and wander off to find a suitable place to build a lair of their own.

[3] As of April 2019[update], the World Spider Catalog accepts the following genera:[2]