[1] Around half of those species are entomophilous, using insects to disperse their spores, a characteristic found in no other seedless land plants.

This protonema serves members of Splachnaceae by quickly colonizing its preferred substrate, developing in three stages: the chloronema, caulonema, and finally the leafy gametophore.

[5][6] The chloronema is the earliest stage of protonema, having unique features such as irregular branching, round chloroplasts, and transverse crosswalls.

Above this is a shorter "urn" which is the same colour, and harbours a bluntly conical or convex operculum on top; of which the annulus is poorly developed.

[1][5][4] A haploid calyptra, composed of tissue from the gametophyte, may be present on the sporophyte; it being nearly always mitrate (shaped like a bishop's cap) and smooth.

However, recent phylogenetic studies do not support this relationship and instead point to the Splachnaceae as being more closely related to the Meesiaceae rather than to the Funariaceae as was thought.

[2] Kulindobryum from the Middle Jurassic Ukureyskaya Formation of Russia, associated with dinosaur skeletons of the genus Kulindadromeus, closely resembles Tayloria, and may be a member of the family.

[3][1] Due to their ecological preference for decaying animal matter, members of Splachnaceae are considered annual-shuttles, and populations cannot be sustained over long periods of time.

Furthermore, such habitats are extremely discontinuous as they depend on the production and decay of animal matter within a specific climatic and vegetational zone.

For these reasons, Splachnaceae are mostly found in regions where the temperature is cold enough to slow the rapid decay of animal matter on which they inhabit.

[5] Although not all species are restricted to habitats associated with decaying animal matter, they have nonetheless been observed to flourish in nitrogen-rich substrates.

[13] In many instances, the specific colours, shapes, and odours produced by sporophytes have been shown to have species-specific relationships to the flies that visit them.

This suggests that the Splachnaceae co-exist through signal diversification, which allows different species to avoid competition for spore-dispersal within a limited range.

[12] Morphological adaptations of the family Splachnaceae include the enlarged, often inflated hypophysis, the coloured sporangium/upper region of the seta, and hygroscopic movements of the peristome which help spores to leave.

This includes the dung of herbivorous mammals, skeletal remains, antlers, the stomach pellets of predatory birds, and corpses.

[13] In past cultivation experiments, it was observed that the protonema and shoots of species such as Splachnum sphaericum have a greater tolerance for substrates of high nitrogen content than other arctic bryophytes.

Additionally, results indicated that the tissues of species in Splachnaceae reflect the nutrient content of their chosen substrata; being much higher in nitrogen, phosphorus, and calcium compared to other bryophytes.

[15] The gametophyte stage starts with the production of a haploid spore, which must first be dispersed onto suitable habitat (often by wind or by insect in Splachnaceae).

If fertilization is successful, a diploid zygote will form, eventually developing into a dependent sporophyte, which will produce the following generation of spores.

[12] Although the first records of these mosses in herbaria are uncertain, Splachnaceae was first published in 1824 (Memoirs of the Wernerian Natural History Society 5: 442.

)[17] Entomophily is a notable adaptation that, as in flowering plants, has helped species in Splachnaceae to rapidly diversify within a short evolutionary timeframe.