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Species Dolomedes vittatus

Spider ID? - Dolomedes vittatus Fishing Spider - Dolomedes vittatus - female here a better pic of unknown rafts spider - Dolomedes vittatus - male Banded Fishing Spider? - Dolomedes vittatus - male Banded Fishing Spider - Dolomedes vittatus - Dolomedes vittatus - female Banded Fishing spider - Dolomedes vittatus - Dolomedes vittatus Dolomedes vittatus - male large spider - Dolomedes vittatus - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)
Class Arachnida (Arachnids)
Order Araneae (Spiders)
Infraorder Araneomorphae (True Spiders)
No Taxon (Entelegynae)
Family Pisauridae (Nursery Web Spiders)
Genus Dolomedes (Fishing Spiders)
No Taxon (fimbriatus group)
Species vittatus (Dolomedes vittatus)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Explanation of Names
Dolomedes vittatus Walckenaer, 1837
Identification
Distinguishing Dolomedes vittatus from Dolomedes scriptus males can be rather tricky at times, so here's a couple physical characteristics that I use to tell the two apart:

1.) Generally, the abdominal markings of adult male D. scriptus have a more "sculptured" appearance, whereas D. vittatus have less-pronounced markings.
2.) The two dark-colored spots in the middle of the cephalothorax are almost always more robust in D. vittatus than the more narrow ones found on D. scriptus.

Here are some images from the Guide that might help clarify some of this:

Dolomedes vittatus


Dolomedes scriptus


Hope that helped a little...Brett Tyler, 31 December, 2008

Anecdotally, it appears that white stripes along the edges of the carapace and abdomen are only found on males.
Print References
Carico, J. E., 1973. The Nearctic species of the genus Dolomedes (Araneae: Pisauridae). Bulletin Museum of Comparative Zoology Harvard 144: 435-488. (Species Description Here)
Walckenaer, C. A. (1837). Histoire naturelle des insectes. Aptères. Roret. (Original Description)
Internet References