{{Short description|Species of orb-weaver spider}} {{Speciesbox | name = | image = Eustala fuscovittata 249981589.jpg | image_caption = female from Colombia | image2 = | image2_caption = | taxon = Eustala fuscovittata | authority = (Keyserling, 1864) | synonyms = {{Specieslist |Epeira fusco-vittata|Keyserling, 1864 |Nephila hirta|Taczanowski, 1873 |Cyclosa thorelli|McCook, 1894 |Epeira caudata|Banks, 1898 |Eustala anastera vermiformis|Franganillo, 1931 |Eustala procurva|Franganillo, 1936 |Eustala richardsi|Mello-Leitão, 1939 |Nephilengys hirta|(Taczanowski, 1873) }} }}
'''''Eustala fuscovittata''''' is a species of orb-weaver spider in the family Araneidae.<ref name="wsc" /> Originally described as ''Epeira fusco-vittata'' by Eugen von Keyserling in 1864, it has a wide distribution across the Americas.<ref name="keyserling1864" />
==Distribution== ''E. fuscovittata'' has been recorded from the United States, Cuba, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, and Guyana.<ref name="wsc" />
==Description== Like many related species, ''E. fuscovittata'' exhibits notable sexual dimorphism in size and appearance.<ref name="mello1939" />
===Female=== Females are considerably larger than males, with a total length of approximately 11.2 mm. The cephalothorax is oval-shaped, much longer than broad, and reddish-brown in coloration with a narrow dark band running across the posterior portion that divides at the head region. The abdomen has an elongated oval shape and is yellowish-brown with numerous small brown ring-like spots and some larger markings. A broad, dark, wavy band runs along the entire length of the dorsal surface, enclosing a narrow black longitudinal stripe in the center.<ref name="keyserling1864" />
The eye arrangement shows the four median eyes of equal size, with the anterior pair separated by more than twice their diameter, while the posterior median eyes are closer together. The lateral eyes are slightly smaller and positioned close to each other.<ref name="keyserling1864" />
===Male=== Males are smaller with a total body length of approximately 6-8 mm. The posterior row of eyes is slightly recurved, with the median eyes almost touching and separated from the lateral eyes by four times their own diameter. The anterior row is strongly procurved, with the median eyes more distant from each other than from the lateral eyes.<ref name="mello1939" />
The male cephalothorax is brown with a median dark line, while the sternum, labium, maxillae, pedipalps and legs are darker. The abdomen is brownish cinereous with a broad longitudinal stripe, and all leg spines are black with yellow broad rings.<ref name="mello1939" />
==Taxonomy== This species has had a complex taxonomic history with numerous synonyms.<ref name="levi2013" /> Originally described by Keyserling in 1864 as ''Epeira fusco-vittata'', it was later transferred to the genus ''Eustala'' by Frederick Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1904.<ref name="pickard1904" /> Several species have been synonymized with ''E. fuscovittata'' over time, including ''Nephilengys hirta'' (Taczanowski, 1873), which was recognized as a synonym in 2007, and ''Eustala anastera vermiformis'', ''E. procurva'', and ''E. richardsi'', which were synonymized in 2013.<ref name="levi2013" />
==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="wsc">{{cite web | url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/species/3920 | title=Eustala fuscovittata (Keyserling, 1864) | publisher=World Spider Catalog | access-date=3 September 2025}}</ref> <ref name="keyserling1864">{{cite journal | last=Keyserling | first=E. | year=1864 | title=Beschreibungen neuer und wenig bekannter Arten aus der Familie Orbitelae Latr. oder Epeiridae Sund. | journal=Sitzungs-Berichte der naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft Isis in Dresden | volume=1863 | pages=63–98, 119–154 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/32550343}}</ref> <ref name="mello1939">{{cite journal | last=Mello-Leitão | first=C. F. de | year=1939 | title=Some new argiopid spiders of British Guiana taken by Mr C. W. Richards from the nests of solitary wasps | journal=Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências | volume=11 | pages=105–112}}</ref> <ref name="pickard1904">{{cite book | last=Pickard-Cambridge | first=F. O. | year=1904 | title=Arachnida - Araneida and Opiliones. In: Biologia Centrali-Americana, Zoology | location=London | volume=2 | pages=465–560}}</ref> <ref name="levi2013">{{cite journal | last1=Levi | first1=H. W. | last2=Santos | first2=A. J. | year=2013 | title=New synonymies and a revalidation in the spider genera Eustala and Micrathena (Araneae: Araneidae) | journal=Zoologia (Curitiba) | volume=30 | pages=221–226 | doi=10.1590/s1984-46702013000200013| doi-access=free }}</ref> }}
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Category:Eustala Category:Spiders of Central America Category:Spiders of South America Category:Spiders described in 1864