The first umbrella spider observed and described by his doctorship von Leverkühn belonged to the Parapluvids, the common umbrella spiders. While to the untrained eye they may closely resemble an ordinary object commonly known as an umbrella he immediately recognized them as a unique life form. The confusion is understandable, much like umbrellas, most Parapluvids are primarily composed of metal, wood and/or plastic. Common umbrella spiders have been spotted in Sint-Niklaas, Waasmunster and Ranst. With Arachnea parapluviosis crinoidea, the lily spider of the seas, the parapluvids may have the oldest variant amongst all Arachnea parapluviosis species, from which all other umbrella spiders are descended.
Discovered species so far include :
