''Nephilingis cruentata'' is an araneid spider with a strikingly red

sternum The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels from injury. Sha ...

. Females reach a length of about 24 mm. The legs can be uniformly dark red or brown, or annulated. Males are about 4 mm long.

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1775 by Johan Fabricius, as ''Araneus cruentata''. In 1887, Eugène Simon transferred it to the genus '' Nephilengys''. In 2013,

Matjaž Kuntner Matjaž or Matjaz is a given name. It may refer to: * King Matjaž, legendary king in Slovenia, as well as Croatia and elsewhere * Matjaž Brumen (born 1982), Slovenian handball player *Matjaž Ceraj (born 1983), Slovenian judoka * Matjaž Cvikl (1 ...

et al. decided that four species of ''Nephilengys'' were sufficiently different to require an alternative generic placement. Accordingly, they erected the genus ''

Nephilingis ''Nephilingis'' is a genus of spiders in the family Araneidae. It was split off from the genus '' Nephilengys'' in 2006. Both genera have been called hermit spiders from the habit of staying in their retreats during the day; alternatively the na ...

'' with ''Nephilingis cruentata'' as 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 specime ...

Distribution

''N. cruentata'' is found in tropical and subtropical

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 ...

and several limited areas of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

(

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, northern Colombia and

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

), where it has probably been introduced by humans in the late 19th century at the latest.

Name

The species name ''cruentata'' is derived from Latin ''cruentus'' "bloody", probably referring to the female red sternum.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2861919 Araneidae Spiders of Africa Spiders of South America Spiders described in 1775 Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius