Diving bell spider

Diving bell spider
Temporal range: Neogene–present
Female (on left) and male
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Dictynidae
Genus: Argyroneta
Latreille, 1804
Species:
A. aquatica
Binomial name
Argyroneta aquatica
(Clerck, 1758)
Synonyms[6]
  • Aranea amphibia Müller, 1776[1]
  • Aranea aquatica Linnaeus, 1758[2]
  • Araneus aquaticus Clerck, 1757[3]
  • Aranea urinatoria Poda, 1761[4]
  • Clubiona fallax Walckenaer, 1837[5]

The diving bell spider or water spider (Argyroneta aquatica) is the only species of spider known to live almost entirely under water. It is the only member of the genus Argyroneta.[6] When out of the water, the spider ranges in colour from mid to dark brown, although the hairs on the abdomen give it a dark grey, velvet-like appearance.[7] It is native to freshwater habitats in Europe and Asia.[6][8]

  1. ^ Müller, O. F. (1776). Zoologicae danicae prodromus, seu animalium daniae et norvegiae indigenarum, characteres, nomina et synonyma imprimis popularium. Hafniae. p. 194.
  2. ^ Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species cum characteribus differentiis, synonymis, locis. p. 623.
  3. ^ Clerck, C. (1757). Svenska spindlar, uti sina hufvud-slågter indelte samt under några och sextio särskildte arter beskrefne och med illuminerade figurer uplyste. p. 143.
  4. ^ Poda, N. (1761). Insecta Musei Graecensis, quae in ordines, genera et species juxta systema naturae Caroli Linnaei. Graecii. p. 123.
  5. ^ Walckenaer, C. A. (1837). Histoire naturelle des insectes. Aptères. p. 603.
  6. ^ a b c Gloor, Daniel; Nentwig, Wolfgang; Blick, Theo; Kropf, Christian (2019). "Gen. Argyroneta Latreille, 1804". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  7. ^ "Argyroneta aquatica (Clerck 1758) (Water spider)". danmarks-edderkopper.dk. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  8. ^ Schütz, D.; Taborsky, M. (2003). "Adaptations to an aquatic life may be responsible for the reversed sexual size dimorphism in the water spider, Argyroneta aquatica" (PDF). Evolutionary Ecology Research. 5 (1): 105–117. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-12-16.