World Spider Catalog

Pisauridae Simon, 1890

Family | ACCEPTED

N.B.: the Dolomedidae (incl. Bradystichidae) are removed from the synonymy by Morris, Hazzi & Hormiga, 2025: 8, confirmed by Yu et al., 2025: 431 (confirming Lehtinen, 1967: 231, rejecting Sierwald, 1990: 50); Sierwald, 1990: 50 recognized also a "Trechalea genus group [that] is not a close relative of the nursery-web Pisauridae" and whose members are now listed under Trechaleidae; considered a synonym of Halidae Jocqué, 1994b: 281 by Jocqué & Dippenaar-Schoeman, 2006: 212 (confirmed by Polotow, Carmichael & Griswold, 2015); probably includes Senoculidae per Murphy & Roberts, 2015: ix; Morris, Hazzi & Hormiga, 2025: 8 list three subfamilies (Halinae Jocqué, 1994: Hala, Tolma; Thaumasiinae Petrunkevitch, 1928: Architis, Thaumasia; Pisaurinae: Cladycnis, Dendrolycosa, Nilus, Paracladycnis, Perenethis, Pisaura, Pisaurina, Sphedanus) and numerous genera are deemed incertae sedis in terms of their subfamilial placement; Blandinia Tonini, Silva, Filho & Freitas, 2016 is excluded from the Pisauridae by Yu et al., 2025: 431 ("incertae sedis"), but not included into another family.

Gen. Rothus Simon, 1898 urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidergen:01729

type Rothus purpurissatus Simon, 1898; gender masculine; syn. of Rothus aethiopicus (Pavesi, 1883)

N.B.: type species fixed by Simon, 1898a: 294.

In synonymy:

Rothus catenulatus Simon, 1898 = Rothus aethiopicus (Pavesi, 1883) (Blandin, 1977c: 552, sub R. purpurissatus)

Rothus insulus (Strand, 1913, T from Pisaura) = Rothus aethiopicus (Pavesi, 1883) (Roewer, 1955b: 206)

Rothus lineatus Pocock, 1902 = Rothus aethiopicus (Pavesi, 1883) (Blandin, 1977c: 552, sub R. purpurissatus)

Rothus magnus Caporiacco, 1940 = Rothus aethiopicus (Pavesi, 1883) (Silva & Sierwald, 2015: 327)

Rothus mossamedesus Roewer, 1955 = Rothus aethiopicus (Pavesi, 1883) (Blandin, 1977c: 552, sub R. purpurissatus)

Rothus pictus Roewer, 1955 = Rothus aethiopicus (Pavesi, 1883) (Blandin, 1977c: 552, sub R. purpurissatus)

Rothus purpurissatus Simon, 1898 = Rothus aethiopicus (Pavesi, 1883) (Silva & Sierwald, 2015: 327)

Rothus upembanus Roewer, 1955 = Rothus aethiopicus (Pavesi, 1883) (Blandin, 1977c: 552, sub R. purpurissatus)

Rothus vestitus Roewer, 1955 = Rothus aethiopicus (Pavesi, 1883) (Blandin, 1977c: 552, sub R. purpurissatus)

Nomina dubia:

Rothus atlanticus Simon, 1898f: 14 (j, Algeria, Tunisia) -- Blandin, 1977c: 552

Rothus concolor Caporiacco, 1940c: 787 (j, Ethiopia) -- Blandin, 1977c: 552

Rothus obscurus Strand, 1907a: 545 (f, South Africa) -- Blandin, 1977c: 552

Rothus strandi Caporiacco, 1940c: 787 (j, Ethiopia) -- Blandin, 1977c: 552

Rothus subcatenulatus Strand, 1908m: 108 (j, Ethiopia) -- Blandin, 1977c: 552

Rothus aethiopicus (Pavesi, 1883) | | Cameroon, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini, Egypt, Israel urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:047952 TYPE SPECIES

Ocyale aethiopicus Pavesi, 1883: 71 (Dmf) Original description

Rothus purpurissatus Simon, 1898a: 294, f. 293-294, 298

Rothus purpurissatus Simon, 1898f: 14 (Df) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:019778]

Rothus catenulatus Simon, 1898f: 15 (Df) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:057706]

Rothus lineatus Pocock, 1902a: 16, pl. 3, f. 2 (Df) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:057707]

Rothus aethiopicus Simon, 1907e: 8 (T from Ocyale)

Pisaura insula Strand, 1913a: 418 (Df) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:051121]

Rothus aethiopicus Lessert, 1916: 581, f. 15-18 (mf)

Rothus catenulatus Caporiacco, 1940c: 786, f. 8 (f)

Rothus magnus Caporiacco, 1940c: 784, f. 7 (Dmf) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:057708]

Rothus aethiopicus Roewer, 1955b: 206, f. 79a-e (mf, S of Pisaura insula)

Rothus upembanus Roewer, 1955b: 209, f. 80a-b (Df) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:057711]

Rothus pictus Roewer, 1955b: 210, f. 81a-e (Dmf) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:057710]

Rothus mossamedesus Roewer, 1955b: 214, f. 82a-b (Df) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:057709]

Rothus vestitus Roewer, 1955b: 217, f. 83a-b (Df) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:057712]

Rothus purpurissatus Blandin, 1976c: 918, f. 5-6 (f)

Rothus purpurissatus Blandin, 1977c: 552, f. 10-12, 15-27, 31 (mf, S of Rothus catenulatus, R. lineatus, R. mossamedesus, R. pictus, R. upembanus and R. vestitus)

Rothus aethiopicus Blandin, 1977c: 552 (incertae sedis, taken as nomen dubium by Platnick)

Rothus magnus Blandin, 1977c: 552 (incertae sedis, taken as nomen dubium by Platnick)

Rothus purpurissatus Levy, 1999a: 60, f. 34A-B, 35A-B (mf)

Rothus aethiopicus Silva & Sierwald, 2015: 327, f. 2-23 (mf, removed from nomen dubium, S of Rothus magnus and R. purpurissatus)

Rothus aethiopicus Dippenaar-Schoeman et al., 2020q: 51, p. 50: 2 f., p. 51: 6 f., p. 52: 6 f. (mf)

Rothus aethiopicus El-Hennawy, 2021: 233, f. 2-20 (mf)

Rothus auratus Pocock, 1900 | | South Africa urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:019777

Rothus auratus Pocock, 1900e: 326 (Df) Original description

Rothus auratus Pocock, 1902a: 16, pl. 3, f. 3 (f)

Rothus auratus Blandin, 1977c: 554, f. 14 (f)

Rothus auratus Silva & Sierwald, 2015: 339, f. 43-48 (f; N.B.: may be S of R. vittatus)

Rothus auratus Dippenaar-Schoeman et al., 2020q: 53, 5 f. (f)

Rothus vittatus Simon, 1898 | | South Africa urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:019779

Rothus vittatus Simon, 1898f: 15 (Df) Original description

Rothus vittatus Blandin, 1977c: 554, f. 13, 30 (f)

Rothus vittatus Silva & Sierwald, 2015: 334, f. 24-42 (f, Dm)

Rothus vittatus Dippenaar-Schoeman et al., 2020q: 54, 6 f. (f)