Help us sample the African hermit spider!

The objective of our project is to provide a robust scientific framework for testing organismal spread and invasion. Our model organisms are the African hermit spiders (Nephilingis), prominent orb weaving predators of invertebrates in Africa and the Indian Ocean. Nephilingis live in colonies and often around human settlements, a lifestyle that may predispose them to travel along maritime human routes. Such a scenario could explain that a single species, N. cruentata, inhabits most parts of tropical Africa as well as a part of tropical South America in Brazil. The other three Nephilingis species, however, defy this simplified scenario, and are confined to a handful of neighboring island chains.

The question, what makes one species (N. cruentata) and not the others so extremely widespread over two continents, needs to invoke one or several recent colonization events from Africa to South America, either natural or assisted by humans.

Help us compile a large sample of N. cruentata, focusing on African coastal populations! We require whole specimens of both sexes preserved in ethanol. If you or someone you know is planning fieldwork in areas of our special interest, please contact us for more information (Matjaž Kuntner: matjaz.kuntner<a>nib.si).

INFO POSTER

Nephilingis poster.pdf

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