Raft spider
| Raft spider | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Female with juvenile spiders | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Family: | Pisauridae |
| Genus: | Dolomedes |
| Species: | D. fimbriatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Dolomedes fimbriatus (Clerck, 1757) | |
 | |
The raft spider, Dolomedes fimbriatus, is a European spider of the family Pisauridae. The raft spider is one of the two largest spiders in the United Kingdom. Like other Dolomedes spiders it hunts by running on the surface of water, and can submerge altogether to hide from predators.
The female's body measures up to 22 millimetres (0.87 in) long with a leg span of about 70 mm (2.8 in); as with most spiders the male is considerably smaller.
Raft spiders are semi-aquatic and live around acidic bogs and in wet acidic grassland, especially where there are small pools of water. They are dark chocolate brown in colour (or sometimes greenish) with a conspicuous white or cream stripe along each side. The closely related great raft spider (Dolomedes plantarius) is similar in size, habits and appearance, but lives in fens.
References
Further reading
- Arnqvist, G. (1992). "Courtship behavior and sexual cannibalism in the semi-aquatic fishing spider, Dolomedes fimbriatus (Clerck)(Araneae: Pisauridae)". Journal of Arachnology: 222–226.
External links
Media related to Dolomedes fimbriatus at Wikimedia Commons- Raft spider at Digital Wildlife
- Raft spider photos