''Nephilingis'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

s in the family

Nephilidae Nephilidae is a spider family commonly referred to as golden orb-weavers. The various genera in the Nephilidae family were formerly placed in Tetragnathidae and Araneidae. All nephilid genera partially renew their webs. Reproductive behavior The ...

. It was split off from the genus '' Nephilengys'' 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: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

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 descr ...

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 (1 ...

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

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 ...

. 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 Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist in history, ...

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

cladistic Cladistics ( ; from Ancient Greek 'branch') 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 ...

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, wide-s ...

, 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 nephilid 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 fro ...

'' (Vinson, 1863) –

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

*''

Nephilingis cruentata ''Nephilingis cruentata'' is an nephilid spider with a strikingly red sternum. Females reach a length of about 24 mm. The legs can be uniformly dark red or brown, or annulated. Males are about 4 mm long. Taxonomy The species was firs ...

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

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

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

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Comoro Islands The Comoro Islands are a group of volcanic islands in the Mozambique Channel, an arm of the Indian Ocean lying between Madagascar and the African mainland. Three of the islands form the Union of the Comoros, a sovereign nation, while Mayotte bel ...

Mayotte Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...

Aldabra Aldabra, the world's second-largest coral atoll (the largest is Kiritimati), is located 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 (Seychelles), Outer Islands ...

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

Distribution

''Nephilingis'' is primarily a tropical African species, including islands off mainland Africa in the western Indian Ocean. The dispersal of ''

'' to South America is believed to be relatively recent.

References

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