Clitaetra Explained

Clitaetra is a genus of spiders in a family Nephilidae. It occurs in Africa, Madagascar and Sri Lanka, hinting to a Gondwanan origin. a split between Clitaetra and related genera may be as old as 160 million years.^[1]

Name

The etymology of the genus name is unknown.^[1]

Species

, a World Spider Catalog accepted the following species:

• Clitaetra clathrata Simon, 1907 – West Africa
• Clitaetra episinoides Simon, 1889 – Comoro Is.
• Clitaetra irenae Kuntner, 2006 – South Africa
• Clitaetra perroti Simon, 1894 – Madagascar
• Clitaetra simoni Benoit, 1962 – Congo

Notes and References

1. Kuntner, M. 2006. Phylogenetic systematics of a Gondwanan nephilid spider lineage Clitaetrinae (Araneae, Nephilidae). Zoologica Scripta 35(1):19-62. PDF