''Nephilingis'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species d ...

s in the family

Araneidae Orb-weaver spiders are members of the spider family Araneidae. They are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields, and forests. The English word "orb" can mean "circular", hence the English name ...

. It was split off from the genus ''

Nephilengys ''Nephilengys'' is a genus of tropical spiders of the family Araneidae, consisting of two currently described species. (The genus was formerly placed in the Nephilidae and Tetragnathidae.) The genus ''Nephilingis'' has been split off from this ge ...

'' in 2006. Both genera have been called hermit spiders from the habit of staying in their retreats during the day; alternatively the name "hermit spider" may be reserved for ''Nephilingis'', with ''Nephilengys'' species called "eunuch spiders".

Description

Females of species in the genus ''Nephilingis'' are large spiders, with a body length of . The epigynum is wider than long, without a central septum or anterior rim – distinguishing them from females of ''Nephilengys''. Males are considerably smaller. The

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

of the

palpal bulb The two palpal bulbs – also known as palpal organs and genital bulbs – are the copulatory organs of a male spider. They are borne on the last segment of the pedipalps (the front "limbs" of a spider), giving the spider an appearance often desc ...

is short, wide and spiraled. Species of ''Nephilingis'', like those of ''Nephilengys'', build large asymmetric webs on trees with a hiding retreat in which they hide during the day. The webs make use of branches and similar supports but are mainly aerial, contrasting with those of other nephiline species, whose webs follow the contours of the tree trunk.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Nephilingis'' was erected by

Matjaž Kuntner Matjaž or Matjaz is a given name. It may refer to: *King Matjaž, legendary king in Slovenia, as well as Croatia and elsewhere *Matjaž Brumen (born 1982), Slovenian handball player * Matjaž Ceraj (born 1983), Slovenian judoka * Matjaž Cvikl (19 ...

in 2013. In 1872, Ludwig Koch created the genus ''

''. In 2013, based on phylogenetic studies, Kuntner and co-workers split ''Nephilengys'' into two genera. Four species were moved to the newly erected genus ''Nephilingis'', with two species being left in ''Nephilengys''. ''Nephilingis'' is differentiated from ''Nephilengys'' by the shapes of the female epigynum and the male

. Koch placed the original genus ''Nephilengys'' in the family

. In 1894,

Eugène Simon Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects and spiders, but also on birds and plants. He is by far the most prolific spider taxonomist in history, describing over 4 ...

erected the subfamily

Nephilinae Nephilinae is a spider subfamily of the family Araneidae with seven genera. The various genera in Nephilinae were formerly grouped in the family Nephilidae, and before that in the Tetragnathidae and in the Araneidae (where they have been restored ...

within the Araneidae for ''Nephila'' and related genera, including ''Nephilengys''. This classification was used until the late 20th century, when

cladistic Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups (" clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived ch ...

studies initially suggested that nephilines belonged in the

Tetragnathidae Long-jawed orb weavers or long jawed spiders (Tetragnathidae) are a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Anton Menge in 1866. They have elongated bodies, legs, and chelicerae, and build small orb webs with an open hub with few, wid ...

, although this was later refuted. When Kuntner split ''Nephilengys'' in 2006, he raised the nephilines from a subfamily to the family Nephilidae.

Molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies from 2004 onwards consistently placed nephilids within Araneidae. Accordingly in 2016, Dimitar Dimitrov et al. returned them to their traditional position as a subfamily of Araneidae.

Species

, the

World Spider Catalog The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...

accepted the following species: *''

Nephilingis borbonica ''Nephilingis borbonica'' is an araneid spider from Réunion. It was once thought to also inhabit Madagascar and other nearby islands, however these were determined in 2011 to be a different species, '' Nephilingis livida'', while specimens from ...

'' (Vinson, 1863) –

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

*'' Nephilingis cruentata'' (Fabricius, 1775) – Tropical Africa, South America *'' Nephilingis dodo'' (Kuntner & Agnarsson, 2011) –

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

*'' Nephilingis livida'' (Vinson, 1863) –

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Comoro Islands The Comoro Islands or Comoros ( Shikomori ''Komori''; ar, جزر القمر , ''Juzur al-qamar''; french: Les Comores) form an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the southeastern coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and northw ...

Mayotte Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore language, Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Bushi language, Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regi ...

Aldabra Aldabra is the world's second-largest coral atoll, lying south-east of the continent of Africa. It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, with a distance of 1,120 k ...

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

Distribution

''Nephilingis'' is primarily a tropical African species, including islands off mainland Africa in the western Indian Ocean. The dispersal of '' Nephilingis cruentata'' to South America is believed to be relatively recent.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q25382886 Araneidae Araneomorphae genera Spiders of Africa Spiders of South America