''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of orb-weaver spiders first described by

Tamerlan Thorell Tord Tamerlan Teodor Thorell (3 May 1830 – 22 December 1901) was a Sweden, Swedish arachnologist. Thorell studied spiders with Giacomo Doria at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale de Genoa. He corresponded with other arachnologists, such as Oc ...

in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Caerostris'' was erected in 1868 by

with the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

being ''Epeira mitralis'' Vinson, 1863, which Thorell transferred to ''Caerostris mitralis''. Up to 2009, only 11 species had been described. A further species, ''C. darwini'', was described in 2010, and six more species in 2015. Two of the "species", ''C. sexcuspidata'' and ''C. sumatrana'', will probably need to be divided further to produce genetically uniform species. A molecular phylogenetic study of 12 of the species of ''Caerostris'' produced the phylogenetic tree shown below, showing that the African and Madagascan species form a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

group.

Species

it contains eighteen species: *''

Caerostris almae ''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a genus of Araneidae, orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus ''Caerostris'' ...

'' Gregorič, 2015 – Madagascar *''

Caerostris bojani ''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus ''Caerostris'' was erecte ...

'' Gregorič, 2015 – Madagascar *''

Caerostris corticosa ''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus ''Caerostris'' was erecte ...

'' Pocock, 1902 – South Africa *''

Caerostris cowani ''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus ''Caerostris'' was erecte ...

'' Butler, 1882 – Madagascar *''

Caerostris darwini Darwin's bark spider (''Caerostris darwini'') is an orb-weaver spider that produces the largest known orb webs, ranging from , with bridge lines spanning up to . The spider was discovered in Madagascar in the Andasibe-Mantadia National Park in 20 ...

'' Kuntner & Agnarsson, 2010 – Madagascar *''

Caerostris ecclesiigera ''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus ''Caerostris'' was erecte ...

'' Butler, 1882 – Madagascar *''

Caerostris extrusa ''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus ''Caerostris'' was erecte ...

'' Butler, 1882 – Madagascar *''

Caerostris hirsuta ''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus ''Caerostris'' was erecte ...

'' (Simon, 1895) – Madagascar *''

Caerostris indica ''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus ''Caerostris'' was erecte ...

'' Strand, 1915 – Myanmar *''

Caerostris linnaeus ''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus ''Caerostris'' was erecte ...

'' Gregorič, 2015 – Mozambique *''

Caerostris mayottensis ''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus ''Caerostris'' was erecte ...

'' Grasshoff, 1984 – Comoros, Mayotte *''

Caerostris mitralis ''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus ''Caerostris'' was erecte ...

'' (Vinson, 1863) – Central Africa, Madagascar *''

Caerostris pero ''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus ''Caerostris'' was erecte ...

'' Gregorič, 2015 – Madagascar *''

Caerostris sexcuspidata ''Caerostris sexcuspidata'', also known as the common bark spider, is a species of spider that occurs in Southern Africa, and on islands off the east coast of Africa, such as Madagascar, the Comores and Aldabra Island. It is a mainly nocturnal or ...

'' (Fabricius, 1793) – Africa, Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles (Aldabra) *''

Caerostris sumatrana ''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus ''Caerostris'' was erecte ...

'' Strand, 1915 – India to China, Borneo *''

Caerostris tinamaze ''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus ''Caerostris'' was erecte ...

'' Gregorič, 2015 – South Africa *''

Caerostris vicina ''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus ''Caerostris'' was erecte ...

'' (Blackwall, 1866) – Central, Southern Africa *''

Caerostris wallacei ''Caerostris'', sometimes called bark spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868. Most species are found in south eastern Africa and neighboring Madagascar. Taxonomy The genus ''Caerostris'' was erecte ...

'' Gregorič, Blackledge, Agnarsson & Kuntner, 2015 – Madagascar

References

Spiders of Africa Spiders of Asia Araneomorphae genera Taxa named by Tamerlan Thorell {{Araneidae-stub