Racoon Mountain Caverns Cave Spider
Nesticus furtivus Gertsch, 1984
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum | Chelicerata |
| Class | Arachnida |
| Order | Araneae |
| Family | Nesticidae |
| Genus | Nesticus |
| Species | Nesticus furtivus Gertsch, 1984 |
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Troglobiont
- Realm
- Terrestrial
- Troglomorphy
- Troglomorphic
Distribution
Type locality
Crystal (=Raccoon Mtn.) Caverns, Hamilton Co. TN
Range
Known from two counties in Tennessee in the Appalachians karst region.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Tennessee
Counties
- Tennessee
- Hamilton, Marion
Karst regions
Appalachians
Genetics
Molecular resources
| Marker | Molecule | Sequences | Length | Exemplar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COI | mitochondrial | 5 | 580-1071 bp | OQ095113.1 |
| 16S | mitochondrial | 1 | 563-563 bp | AF004621.1 |
| 28S | nuclear | 1 | 413-413 bp | AF003791.1 |
7 sequences, retrieved 23 August 2026. Counts change as sequences are deposited. Search GenBank.
Download all 7 sequence records (CSV) Accession, marker, molecule type, length, GenBank definition and a direct link.
Specimens
Collections holding material
| Institution | Lots |
|---|---|
| San Diego State University | 2 |
2 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 2 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.
Conservation and management
NatureServe
G1 Critically Imperiled
Global rank last reviewed 21 August 2002.
Subnational ranks
- Tennessee
- S1 Critically 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
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
- Hedin, M. & Dellinger, B. 2005. Descriptions of a new species and previously unknown males of Nesticus (Araneae: Nesticidae) from caves in eastern North America, with comments on species rarity. Zootaxa 904: 1–19.
- Matthews, L.E. 2007. Caves of Chattanooga. National Speleological Society, Huntsville, Alabama, USA. 192 pp. ISBN 978–1-879961–27–2.
- 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
- Zigler, K.S. & Milne, M.A. 2022. Two new Nesticus Thorell, 1869 (Araneae: Nesticidae) from caves in northwest Georgia, USA. The Journal of Arachnology 50: 292–300. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27233972. details
This account was last revised 28 August 2026. Conservation ranks were looked up 23 August 2026.
How to cite this account
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
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