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Brief Summary

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The spider family Pisauridae includes 336 described species (Platnick 2014), just 14 of which occur in North America north of Mexico. Several of the North American species are common east of the 100th meridian. Pisaurids somewhat resemble lycosids (wolf spiders), but the eyes of pisaurids are typically arranged in a pattern that is distinct from that seen in lycosids. Many pisaurids are quite large.

Pisaurids often hunt on vegetation, on tree trunks, or even on water, but (in contrast to lycosids) they are rarely found on bare ground. Some Dolomedes are known to capture small fish, tadpoles, aquatic insects, and large invertebrate larvae from ponds and slow-moving streams (a habit that accounts for the one of the common names for the family, "fishing spiders"). These spiders can skate over the water surface or plunge into the water to capture prey. When disturbed, they may climb down emergent aquatic vegetation and hide underwater.

Some or all pisaurids exhibit extended parental care. The female carries her egg case under her body, holding it in her chelicerae, while it is also attached to the spinnerets by a thread. When the young are ready to emerge from the egg sac, the female builds a nursery web for the young. She typically uses a folded leaf or similar structure as a roof and fills the space below with a sturdy tangle of threads, suspending the egg sac near the center and guarding the nursery from a nearby perch. When the young emerge, they remain in the nursery for a week or more, molt, then disperse.

In North America north of Mexico, there are just three pisaurid genera: Dolomedes (including the classic "fishing spiders"), Pisaurina, and Tinus.Pisaurina are found in herbaceous vegetation and small shrubs, typically in the ecotone between grasslands and woods or at stream and pond margins. Bruce and Carico (1988) studied mating behavior in Pisaurina mira and found that copulation occurs while the spiders are suspended from a dragline after the female is bound by a veil of the male's silk. Carico (1985) found that juveniles of Pisaurina mira construct silken retreats. Tinus peregrinus is found along the margins of streams in habitat similar to that of Dolomedes.

A phylogenetic analysis of the family was undertaken by Santos (2007). All the North American pisaurid genera were revised by Carico (1972, 1973, 1976), who also revised a number of Neotropical genera. Genitalic structure in the family was analyzed by Sierwald (1989, 1990). Trechalea, formerly considered a pisaurid, is now placed in the related family Trechaleidae (Carico 2005).

Some European Dolomedes are known to be of conservation concern (Iorio and Villepoux 2012).

(Carico 2005; Bradley 2013)

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Nursery web spider

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Nursery web spiders (Pisauridae) is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1890.[1] They resemble wolf spiders (Lycosidae) except for several key differences. Wolf spiders have two very prominent eyes in addition to the other six, while a nursery web spider's eyes are all about the same size.[2] Additionally, female nursery web spiders carry their egg sacs with their jaws and pedipalps instead of attaching them to their spinnerets as wolf spiders do. When the eggs are about to hatch, a female spider builds a nursery "tent", places her egg sac inside, and stands guard outside, hence the family's common name. Like the wolf spiders, however, the nursery web spiders are roaming hunters that don't use webs for catching prey.

Species occur throughout the world except for extremely dry or cold environments, and are common just about everywhere. Many can walk on the surface of still bodies of water and may even dive beneath the surface temporarily to escape enemies. They can jump a distance of 5 to 6 inches (130 to 150 mm), but they have trouble climbing extremely smooth surfaces such as glass.

The name "nursery web spider" is especially given to the European species Pisaura mirabilis, but this family also includes fishing spiders and raft spiders. Adult female specimens may reach up to 15mm in length, excluding legs. The legs of the male are longer in relation to body size than those of the female.[3]

The female spider sometimes attempts to eat the male after mating. The male, to reduce the risk of this, often presents the female with a gift such as a fly when approaching in the hope that this will satisfy her hunger. Sometimes, this gift is a fake present intended to fool the female.[4] Males may wrap the fake gift in silk, to deceive the female to mate. Females can detect the fake gift and terminate mating, negating the male's deception in not giving a real gift.[5]

Genera

As of April 2019, the World Spider Catalog accepts the following genera:[6]

Some fossilized spiders have also been assigned to this family:[7]

Gallery

See also

References

Wikispecies has information related to Pisauridae.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pisauridae.
  1. ^ Simon, E. (1890). Etudes arachnologiques.
  2. ^ Sierwald, P. (1997). "Phylogenetic analysis of Pisaurine nursery web spiders, with revisions of Tetragonophthalma and Perenethis (Araneae, Lycosidae, Pisauridae)" (PDF). The Journal of Arachnology. 25: 361–407.
  3. ^ Anderson, Alissa G.; Hebets, Eileen A. (2016). "Benefits of size dimorphism and copulatory silk wrapping in the sexually cannibalistic nursery web spider, Pisaurina mira". Biology Letters. 12 (2): 20150957. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2015.0957. PMC 4780555. PMID 26911340.
  4. ^ Male Spiders Scam Females with Gift-Wrapped Garbage
  5. ^ Albo, Maria J; Winther, Gudrun; Tuni, Cristina; Toft, Søren; Bilde, Trine (2011-11-14). "Worthless donations: male deception and female counter play in a nuptial gift-giving spider". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 11 (1): 329. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-329. PMC 3228764. PMID 22082300.
  6. ^ "Family: Pisauridae Simon, 1890". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  7. ^ Dunlop, J.A.; Penney, D.; Jekel, D. (2015). "A summary list of fossil spiders and their relatives" (PDF). World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
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Nursery web spider: Brief Summary

provided by wikipedia EN

Nursery web spiders (Pisauridae) is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1890. They resemble wolf spiders (Lycosidae) except for several key differences. Wolf spiders have two very prominent eyes in addition to the other six, while a nursery web spider's eyes are all about the same size. Additionally, female nursery web spiders carry their egg sacs with their jaws and pedipalps instead of attaching them to their spinnerets as wolf spiders do. When the eggs are about to hatch, a female spider builds a nursery "tent", places her egg sac inside, and stands guard outside, hence the family's common name. Like the wolf spiders, however, the nursery web spiders are roaming hunters that don't use webs for catching prey.

Species occur throughout the world except for extremely dry or cold environments, and are common just about everywhere. Many can walk on the surface of still bodies of water and may even dive beneath the surface temporarily to escape enemies. They can jump a distance of 5 to 6 inches (130 to 150 mm), but they have trouble climbing extremely smooth surfaces such as glass.

The name "nursery web spider" is especially given to the European species Pisaura mirabilis, but this family also includes fishing spiders and raft spiders. Adult female specimens may reach up to 15mm in length, excluding legs. The legs of the male are longer in relation to body size than those of the female.

The female spider sometimes attempts to eat the male after mating. The male, to reduce the risk of this, often presents the female with a gift such as a fly when approaching in the hope that this will satisfy her hunger. Sometimes, this gift is a fake present intended to fool the female. Males may wrap the fake gift in silk, to deceive the female to mate. Females can detect the fake gift and terminate mating, negating the male's deception in not giving a real gift.

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