[4] They are a variety of colors, including shades of grey, brown, yellow, and orange, with darker markings on the cephalothorax and spots or mottling on the abdomen, and annulations on the legs of most species.

Their spin is the fastest leg-driven turning maneuver of any terrestrial animal, being able to strike their prey in an eighth of a second (three times the speed of a blink); therefore, the spiders' spins are being used by researchers in robotics applications.

[5] Dr. Zeng of UC Merced claims that the flattie spiders' "outward stance," which "tracks parallel to the ground" allows them to spin rapidly, giving them a "wider range of unrestricted motion.

"[5] They occur worldwide, from sea level to over 2,500 metres (8,200 ft), and are primarily tropical and subtropical, though several species are found in deserts.

At least one (possibly extinct) species of Garcorops, G. jadis, is known only from subfossil copal.