Grassy Creek Cave Spider
Nesticus dilutus Gertsch, 1984
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum | Chelicerata |
| Class | Arachnida |
| Order | Araneae |
| Family | Nesticidae |
| Genus | Nesticus |
| Species | Nesticus dilutus Gertsch, 1984 |
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Troglobiont
- Realm
- Terrestrial
- Troglomorphy
- Troglomorphic
Distribution
Type locality
Grasy Creek Cave, Rhea 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
- Rhea
Karst regions
Appalachians
Genetics
Molecular resources
| Marker | Molecule | Sequences | Length | Exemplar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COI | mitochondrial | 2 | 720-836 bp | OQ095001.1 |
| 16S | mitochondrial | 1 | 584-584 bp | U40507.1 |
| 28S | nuclear | 1 | 419-419 bp | AF003790.1 |
4 sequences, retrieved 23 August 2026. Counts change as sequences are deposited. Search GenBank.
Download all 4 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
- 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.
- Lewis, J.J. 2005a. A biological inventory of caves of the Cumberland Plateau. Tennessee Chapter Cave Program, The Nature Conservancy, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 156 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
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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