[1] It includes the cellar spider P. phalangioides, often called the "daddy longlegs".

[2] This may cause confusion because the name "daddy longlegs" is also applied to two other unrelated arthropods: the harvestman and the crane fly.

Pholcus, like Pholcidae in general, have extremely long and thin legs.

[3] The genus can be distinguished from other pholcid genera by its large size (body length >4 mm), eight eyes, evenly domed prosoma (lacking a median furrow or pit) and cylindrical opisthosoma (longer than it is high).

[4] In the wild, Pholcus live in environments such as caves, under rocks, forest shrubs and deep limestone cracks.