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Cave Biology Data Portal
Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe
AnimaliaArthropodaChelicerataArachnidaAraneaeNesticidaeNesticus

Nesticus barrowsi Gertsch, 1984

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Chelicerata
Class Arachnida
Order Araneae
Family Nesticidae
Genus Nesticus
Species Nesticus barrowsi Gertsch, 1984

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Troglobiont
Realm
Terrestrial
Troglomorphy
Troglomorphic

Distribution

Type locality

Tuckaleechee Caverns, Blount Co. TN

Range

Known from one county in Tennessee in the Appalachians karst region.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Tennessee

Counties

Tennessee
Blount

Karst regions

Appalachians

Genetics

Molecular resources

MarkerMoleculeSequences LengthExemplar
COI mitochondrial 4 942-1071 bp OQ095117.1
16S mitochondrial 3 563-563 bp AF004602.1
28S nuclear 2 418-420 bp AF003774.1

9 sequences, retrieved 23 August 2026. Counts change as sequences are deposited. Search GenBank.

Download all 9 sequence records (CSV) Accession, marker, molecule type, length, GenBank definition and a direct link.

Specimens

Collections holding material

InstitutionLots
San Diego State University 4

4 cataloged lots in 1 collection. Compiled from GBIF and not an exhaustive census: many collections are not yet digitised, and holdings are added continually. Search GBIF for specimen records.

Download all 4 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.

Conservation and management

NatureServe

G1G2 Critically Imperiled to Imperiled

G1▲G2▲G3G4G5

Global rank last reviewed 21 August 2002.

Subnational ranks

Tennessee
S1S2 Critically Imperiled to Imperiled

Ranks looked up 23 August 2026. Conservation status changes, and a rank here is as current as that date and no more.

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Other resources

Catalogue of Life
478WM
GBIF
2152955
ITIS
862726
iNaturalist
225912
NCBI Taxonomy
60722

References

  • Carver, L.M., Perlaky, P., Cressler, A. & Zigler, K.S. 2016. Reproductive seasonality in Nesticus (Araneae: Nesticidae) cave spiders. PLOS One 11: e0156751. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0156751
  • Gertsch, W.J. 1984. The spider family Nesticidae (Araneae) in North America, Central America and the West Indies. Texas Memorial Museum Bulletin 31: 1–91.
  • Hedin, M.C. 1997. Speciational history in a diverse clade of habitat-specialized spiders (Araneae: Nesticidae: Nesticus): inferences from geographic-based sampling. Evolution 51: 1929–1945. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1997.tb05115.x
  • Mays, J.D. 2002. A systematic approach to sampling the arthropod assemblage of Gregorys Cave, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina, USA. 83 pp.
  • Niemiller, M.L. & Zigler, K.S. 2013. Patterns of cave biodiversity and endemism in the Appalachians and Interior Plateau of Tennessee, USA. PLOS One 8: e64177. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0064177
  • Nolfi, D.C. 2009. Review and assessment of known cavernicoles and rare epigean biology of karst and caves, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Proceedings of the 15th International Congress of Speleology, Kerrville, Texas, USA, Volume 3: 1323–1328.
  • Reeves, W.K. 2000. Invertebrate cavernicoles of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 116: 334–343. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24335885. details
  • Wallace, R.L. 1984. Biological survey report of Great Smoky Mountains National Park caves. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S. National Park Service, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA. 33 pp.
  • Wallace, R.L. 1990b. Biological survey report of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park caves. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S. National Park Service, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA. 34 pp.

This account was last revised 28 August 2026. Conservation ranks were looked up 23 August 2026.

How to cite this account

Nesticus barrowsi Gertsch, 1984. Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-0142. https://cavebiology.org/species/nesticus-barrowsi/ (accessed 18 October 2026).
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Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

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Cave Biology Data Portal

Species accounts, distributions, and conservation status for the subterranean fauna of North America and around the globe, with resources for the cave and karst research community.

Text and data CC BY 4.0. Images all rights reserved unless stated.

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