Nilus massajae

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Massajae Nilus fish-eating spider
Nilus massajae 311851865 562990638.jpg
female
Nilus massajae 311851865 562991055.jpg
female
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Pisauridae
Genus: Nilus
Species:
N. massajae
Binomial name
Nilus massajae
(Pavesi, 1883) [1]
Synonyms [2]
  • Dolomedes massajaePavesi, 1883
  • Thalassius massajaeStrand, 1907
  • T. gaerdesiRoewer, 1955
  • T. mubaleusRoewer, 1955

Nilus massajae is a spider species in the family Pisauridae. [2] The species is commonly known as the Massajae Nilus fish-eating spider. [3]

Contents

Distribution

Nilus massajae has been recorded from Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Malawi, Namibia, and South Africa. [3]

In South Africa, the species has been sampled from Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and Western Cape. [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. [3]

They can be found at fresh-water pools and have been sampled from the Fynbos, Forest, Grassland, and Savanna biomes at altitudes ranging from 2 to 1467 m. [3]

Description

Conservation

Nilus massajae is listed as Least Concern due to its wide geographical range. The species is protected in Kwelera Nature Reserve, Hluleka Nature Reserve, Blouberg Nature Reserve, Goudveld State Forest, and Groenefontein Nature Reserve. There are no significant threats to the species. [3]

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Pavesi in 1883 as Dolomedes massajae 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

  1. 1 2 Pavesi, P. (1883). "Spedizione italiana nell'Africa equatoriale. Risultati zoologici. Aracnidi del regno di Scioa". Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova. 20: 5–105.
  2. 1 2 "Nilus massajae (Pavesi, 1883)". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2 . Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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. 44. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7157775. Creative Commons by small.svg  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ Sierwald, P. (1987). "Revision der Gattung Thalassius (Arachnida, Araneae, Pisauridae)". Verhandlungen des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins in Hamburg. 29: 51–142.
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