Tetragnatha nitens
Tetragnatha nitens is a species of long-jawed orb weaver in the spider family Tetragnathidae. It is found in Asia, has been introduced into the Americas, Madeira, Canary Islands, Europe, Egypt, Madagascar, Pacific islands, and New Zealand.
Tetragnatha nitens is a species of spider in the family Tetragnathidae. It has a cosmotropical distribution and is commonly known as Nitens long-jawed spider.
Distribution
Tetragnatha nitens has a cosmotropical distribution across tropical and subtropical Asia and has been introduced to the Americas, Macaronesia, the Mediterranean, Saint Helena, South Africa, Madagascar, Pacific Islands, and New Zealand. In South Africa, the species is known from six provinces, including five protected areas, at altitudes ranging from sea level to 1399 m.
These spiders construct orb webs in vegetation. At Roodeplaatdam, specimens were sampled during the day from trees next to the dam. The species has been sampled from Fynbos, Grassland, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, Savanna, and Thicket biomes.
Conservation
Tetragnatha nitens is listed as Least Concern due to its wide geographical range spanning multiple continents. The species has been sampled from protected areas such as Roodeplaatdam Nature Reserve and Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa. There are no significant threats to the species.
Etymology
The specific epithet, nitens, describes the spider as "shining".
Taxonomy
The species was revised by Okuma and Dippenaar-Schoeman in 1988. It was originally described from Egypt.