All members of this family occur in New Zealand and Australia except for Asmea.

[2] They build a horizontal sheet-like web under rocks, hence the name "sheetweb spiders".

Hikers and trampers often find their sheet-like webs that can be up to 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) across, but the spider itself is nocturnal, spending the day time inside its web tunnel.

Their large size, including mouth parts up to 1 centimetre (0.39 in) long, may be intimidating, but it is considered harmless to humans and bites are extremely rare.

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