''Clitaetra'' is a genus of

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s in a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Araneidae Orb-weaver spiders are members of the spider family Araneidae. They are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields, and forests. The English word "orb" can mean "circular", hence the English name ...

. It was formerly placed in a separate family, Nephilidae. It occurs in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

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 ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, hinting to a

Gondwana Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...

n origin. a split between ''Clitaetra'' and related genera may be as old as 160 million years.Kuntner, M. 2006. Phylogenetic systematics of a Gondwanan nephilid spider lineage Clitaetrinae (Araneae, Nephilidae). ''Zoologica Scripta'' 35(1):19-62
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/ref> The smallest species (''C. thisbe'') reaches 3.5 mm in female length, a biggest species can be as long as one centimetre.

Name

The etymology of the genus name is unknown.

Species

, a

World Spider Catalog The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...

accepted a following species: * ''

Clitaetra clathrata ''Clitaetra'' is a genus of spiders in a family Araneidae. It was formerly placed in a separate family, Nephilidae. It occurs in Africa, Madagascar and Sri Lanka, hinting to a Gondwanan origin. a split between ''Clitaetra'' and related genera may ...

'' Simon, 1907 – West Africa * ''

Clitaetra episinoides ''Clitaetra'' is a genus of spiders in a family Araneidae. It was formerly placed in a separate family, Nephilidae. It occurs in Africa, Madagascar and Sri Lanka, hinting to a Gondwanan origin. a split between ''Clitaetra'' and related genera may ...

'' Simon, 1889 – Comoro Is. * ''

Clitaetra irenae ''Clitaetra'' is a genus of spiders in a family Araneidae. It was formerly placed in a separate family, Nephilidae. It occurs in Africa, Madagascar and Sri Lanka, hinting to a Gondwanan origin. a split between ''Clitaetra'' and related genera may ...

'' Kuntner, 2006 – South Africa * ''

Clitaetra perroti ''Clitaetra'' is a genus of spiders in a family Araneidae. It was formerly placed in a separate family, Nephilidae. It occurs in Africa, Madagascar and Sri Lanka, hinting to a Gondwanan origin. a split between ''Clitaetra'' and related genera may ...

'' Simon, 1894 – Madagascar * ''

Clitaetra simoni ''Clitaetra'' is a genus of spiders in a family Araneidae. It was formerly placed in a separate family, Nephilidae. It occurs in Africa, Madagascar and Sri Lanka, hinting to a Gondwanan origin. a split between ''Clitaetra'' and related genera may ...

'' Benoit, 1962 – Congo * ''

Clitaetra thisbe ''Clitaetra thisbe'', is a species of spider of the genus '' Clitaetra''. It is endemic to Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std ...

'' Simon, 1903 – Sri Lanka

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2405026 Araneidae Spiders of Africa Spiders of Asia Araneomorphae genera