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Species Dolomedes albineus - Whitebanded Fishing Spider

White-banded Fishing Spider - Dolomedes albineus - female 24may2012-arach1 - Dolomedes albineus Dolomedes albineus? - Dolomedes albineus - female Dolomedes albineus? - Dolomedes albineus Dolomedes albineus Wolf spider, perhaps Gladicosa? - Dolomedes albineus Dolomedes albineus? - Dolomedes albineus Dolomedes ? - Dolomedes albineus - 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 Dolomedidae (Fishing Spiders)
Genus Dolomedes (Fishing Spiders)
No Taxon (fimbriatus group)
Species albineus (Whitebanded Fishing Spider)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Explanation of Names
Dolomedes albineus Heinz 1845
Size
Female 23 mm, male 18 mm.
Identification
Generally an ID can be made by the white band along the 'face' (clypeus):

D. albineus is also the only member of the North American fishing spiders to sometimes sport a mossy-green coloration on the abdomen.

D. albineus often has coarse white hairs on the legs and abdomen that stick out perpendicularly to the legs/abdomen, giving the spider a bristly appearance that is not observed in other Dolomedes species in BugGuide's range. However, this feature is not always present.


D. albineus one other useful feature is the head (cephalic) region of the cephalothorax is raised above the rest of the cephalothorax.


Significant patterning variants can also be found, such as those with entirely white heads or brown & white coloration .
Range
e. US to c. TX (BG data)
Habitat
Often observed on trees or on walls of manmade structures. Both D. albineus and D. tenebrosus are often observed away from water, unlike their relatives in the genus.
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)
Hentz, N. M. (1845). Descriptions and figures of the araneides of the United States. Boston Journal of Natural History 5(2): 189-202, pl. 16-17. (Original Description)