Cicurina vespera

Cicurina vespera is a rare species of spider in the family Dictynidae known by the common name Government Canyon Bat Cave meshweaver. It is endemic to Texas in the United States, where it is known from only one cave in Bexar County. This is one of nine invertebrates endemic to the karst caves of Bexar County that were federally listed as endangered species in the year 2000.[1]

Cicurina vespera
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Hahniidae
Genus: Cicurina
Species:
C. vespera
Binomial name
Cicurina vespera
Gertsch, 1992

Only one specimen of this species was ever collected, a female. The type locality is Government Canyon Bat Cave in the Government Canyon State Natural Area.[2]

The Bexar County karst cave invertebrates are troglobites, species that spend their entire lives in subterranean environments. The threats to all nine species are the same: habitat loss when the caves are filled in or quarried, and habitat degradation via pollution, alterations in water flow, and direct human interference.[2]

References
  1. USFWS. Draft Bexar County Karst Invertebrates Recovery Plan. Federal Register May 16, 2008.
  2. Cicurina vespera. The Nature Conservancy.
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