Nilus radiatolineatus
| Nilus fish-eating spider | |
|---|---|
| female | |
| female | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Pisauridae |
| Genus: | Nilus |
| Species: | N. radiatolineatus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Nilus radiatolineatus | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Nilus radiatolineatus is a spider species in the family Pisauridae.[2] The species is commonly known as the Nilus fish-eating spider.[3]
Distribution
Nilus radiatolineatus has been recorded from Cameroon, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Eswatini.[3]
In South Africa, the species has been sampled from KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, and North West.[3]
Habitat and ecology
These are free-running ground dwellers associated with fresh waters and known to catch small fish, tadpoles, and large aquatic invertebrates including insect nymphs or larvae. They can be found at fresh-water pools and have been sampled from the Savanna biome at altitudes ranging from 446 to 1712 m.[3]
Description
Conservation
Nilus radiatolineatus is listed as Least Concern due to its wide geographical range. The species is protected in Pilanesberg Nature Reserve. There are no significant threats to the species.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was described by Strand in 1906 from Ethiopia.[1] It was transferred to Nilus by Jäger in 2011.[4] The species was revised by Sierwald in 1987 and is known from both sexes.[5]
References
- ^ a b Strand, E. (1906). "Diagnosen nordafrikanischer, hauptsächlich von Carlo Freiherr von Erlanger gesammelter Spinnen". Zoologischer Anzeiger. 30: 604–637, 655–690.
- ^ a b "Nilus radiatolineatus Strand, 1906". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
- ^ a b c d e Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2020). The Pisauridae of South Africa. Version 1. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 45. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7157775. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
- ^ Jäger, P. (2011). "Revision of the spider genera Nilus O. Pickard-Cambridge 1876, Sphedanus Thorell 1877 and Dendrolycosa Doleschall 1859 (Araneae: Pisauridae)". Zootaxa. 3046: 1–38. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3046.1.1.
- ^ Sierwald, P. (1987). "Revision der Gattung Thalassius (Arachnida, Araneae, Pisauridae)". Verhandlungen des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins in Hamburg. 29: 51–142.