# Nephilingis

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{{Short description|Genus of spiders}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = 
| image = Big spider in Mozambique.JPG
| image_caption = Female ''[Nephilingis cruentata](/source/Nephilingis_cruentata)'' in Mozambique
| image2 = Nephilingis borbonica.jpg
| image2_caption = Female ''N. borbonica''
| taxon = Nephilingis
| authority = [Kuntner](/source/%3Aspecies%3AMatja%C5%BE_Kuntner), 2013<ref name=wsc />
| synonyms = 
| synonyms_ref = <ref name=wsc />
| diversity = 4 species
| diversity_link = #Species
| diversity_ref = <ref name=wsc />
}}

'''''Nephilingis''''' is a [genus](/source/genus) of [spider](/source/spider)s in the family [Nephilidae](/source/Nephilidae).<ref name=wsc /> It was split off from the genus ''[Nephilengys](/source/Nephilengys)'' in 2006. Both genera have been called '''hermit spiders''' from the habit of staying in their retreats during the day;<ref name=Kunt06 /> alternatively the name "hermit spider" may be reserved for ''Nephilingis'', with ''Nephilengys'' species called "eunuch spiders".<ref name=KuntArneTronLoko13 />

==Distribution==
''Nephilingis'' is primarily a tropical African species, including islands off mainland Africa in the western Indian Ocean. The dispersal of ''[Nephilingis cruentata](/source/Nephilingis_cruentata)'' to South America is believed to be relatively recent.<ref name=KuntArneTronLoko13 />

==Description==
Females of species in the genus ''Nephilingis'' are large spiders, with a body length of {{cvt|16|–|28|mm|in}}. The [epigynum](/source/epigynum_(spider)) is wider than long, without a central septum or anterior rim – distinguishing them from females of ''Nephilengys''.<ref name=Kunt06 />

Males are considerably smaller. The [conductor](/source/Glossary_of_spider_terms) of the [palpal bulb](/source/palpal_bulb) is short, wide and spiraled. Species of ''Nephilingis'', like those of  ''Nephilengys'', build large asymmetric webs on trees with a hiding retreat in which they hide during the day. The webs make use of branches and similar supports but are mainly aerial, contrasting with those of other [nephiline](/source/Nephilinae) species, whose webs follow the contours of the tree trunk.<ref name=Kunt06 /><ref name=KuntArneTronLoko13 />

==Species==
<gallery mode=packed heights=140px>
Nephilingis cruentata 304154687 548281463.jpg|juvenile ''N. cruentata''
Nephilingis livida.jpg|female ''N. livida''
</gallery>

{{as of|2025|9}}, this genus includes four species:<ref name="wsc" />
{{Div col}}
* ''[Nephilingis borbonica](/source/Nephilingis_borbonica)'' <small>(Vinson, 1863)</small> – [Réunion](/source/R%C3%A9union)
* ''[Nephilingis cruentata](/source/Nephilingis_cruentata)'' <small>([Fabricius](/source/Johan_Christian_Fabricius), 1775)</small> – [Tropical Africa](/source/Tropical_Africa). Introduced to [Colombia](/source/Colombia), [Brazil](/source/Brazil), [Paraguay](/source/Paraguay), [Indian Ocean Islands](/source/Indian_Ocean_Islands) (type species)
* ''[Nephilingis dodo](/source/Nephilingis_dodo)'' <small>(Kuntner & [Agnarsson](/source/%3Aspecies%3AIngi_Agnarsson), 2011)</small> – [Mauritius](/source/Mauritius)
* ''[Nephilingis livida](/source/Nephilingis_livida)'' <small>(Vinson, 1863)</small> – [Madagascar](/source/Madagascar), [Comoros](/source/Comoros), [Mayotte](/source/Mayotte), [Seychelles](/source/Seychelles)
{{Div col end}}

==Taxonomy==
In 1872, [Ludwig Koch](/source/Ludwig_Carl_Christian_Koch) created the genus ''[Nephilengys](/source/Nephilengys)''.<ref name=wsc_nephilengys /> In 2013, based on phylogenetic studies, [:species:Matjaž Kuntner](/source/%3Aspecies%3AMatja%C5%BE_Kuntner) and co-workers split ''Nephilengys'' into two genera. Four species were moved to the newly erected genus ''Nephilingis'', with two species being left in ''Nephilengys''. ''Nephilingis'' is differentiated from ''Nephilengys'' by the shapes of the female [epigynum](/source/epigynum_(spider)) and the male [palpal bulb](/source/palpal_bulb).<ref name=KuntArneTronLoko13 />

Koch placed the original genus ''Nephilengys'' in the family [Araneidae](/source/Araneidae).<ref name=Koch72 /> In 1894, [Eugène Simon](/source/Eug%C3%A8ne_Simon) erected the subfamily [Nephilinae](/source/Nephilinae) within the Araneidae for ''Nephila'' and related genera, including ''Nephilengys''. This classification was used until the late 20th century, when [cladistic](/source/cladistics) studies initially suggested that nephilines belonged in the [Tetragnathidae](/source/Tetragnathidae), although this was later refuted. When Kuntner split ''Nephilengys'' in 2006, he raised the nephilines from a subfamily to the family Nephilidae. [Molecular phylogenetic](/source/Molecular_phylogenetics) studies from 2004 onwards consistently placed nephilids within Araneidae. Accordingly in 2016, [Dimitar Dimitrov](/source/%3Aspecies%3ADimitar_Stefanov_Dimitrov) et al. returned them to their traditional position as a subfamily of Araneidae.<ref name=DimiBenaArneGiri16 />

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
  <ref name="wsc">{{cite web | url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/genus/2046 | title=Genus Nephilingis | publisher=World Spider Catalog  | doi=10.24436/2 | accessdate=26 September 2025}}</ref>
  <ref name=wsc_nephilengys>{{cite web|title=Gen. ''Nephilengys'' L. Koch, 1872 |work=World Spider Catalog |publisher=Natural History Museum Bern |url=http://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/genus/2045 |access-date=2017-05-12 }}</ref>
  <ref name=DimiBenaArneGiri16>{{Citation |last1=Dimitrov |first1=Dimitar |last2=Benavides |first2=Ligia R. |last3=Arnedo |first3=Miquel A. |last4=Giribet |first4=Gonzalo |last5=Griswold |first5=Charles E. |last6=Scharff |first6=Nikolaj |last7=Hormiga |first7=Gustavo |date=2016 |title=Rounding up the usual suspects: a standard target-gene approach for resolving the interfamilial phylogenetic relationships of ecribellate orb-weaving spiders with a new family-rank classification (Araneae, Araneoidea) |journal=Cladistics |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=221–250 |url=http://macroecointern.dk/pdf-reprints/Dimitrov_Cladistics_2016.pdf |access-date=2016-10-18 |doi=10.1111/cla.12165 |pmid=34715728 |s2cid=34962403 |name-list-style=amp |doi-access=free }}</ref>
  <ref name=Koch72>{{Citation |last1=Koch |first1=L. |date=1872 |title=Die Arachniden Australiens, vol. 1 |location=Nürnberg |publisher=Bauer & Raspe |language=de, la}} p. 143</ref>
  <ref name=Kunt06>{{citation |author=Matjaž Kuntner |year=2007 |title=A monograph of ''Nephilengys'', the pantropical 'hermit spiders' (Araneae, Nephilidae, Nephilinae) |journal=[Systematic Entomology](/source/Systematic_Entomology) |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=95–135 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-3113.2006.00348.x |bibcode=2007SysEn..32...95K |s2cid=84146620 }}</ref>
  <ref name=KuntArneTronLoko13>{{Citation |last1=Kuntner |first1=M. |last2=Arnedo |first2=M.A. |last3=Trontelj |first3=P. |last4=Lokovsek |first4=T. |last5=Agnarsson |first5=I. |date=2013 |title=A molecular phylogeny of nephilid spiders: evolutionary history of a model lineage |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=69 |issue=3 |pages=961–979 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2013.06.008 |pmid=23811436 |bibcode=2013MolPE..69..961K |name-list-style=amp }}</ref>
}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q25382886}}

Category:Araneomorphae genera
Category:Spiders of Africa
Category:Spiders of South America
Category:Nephilinae

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nephilingis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephilingis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephilingis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.