Cercidia

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Cercidia
File:Cercidia prominens1.jpg
Cercidia prominens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
Genus: Cercidia
Thorell, 1869[1]
Type species
C. prominens
(Westring, 1851)
Species
  • C. levii Marusik, 1985 – Russia (Europe), Kazakhstan
  • C. prominens (Westring, 1851) – North America, Europe, Caucasus, Russia (Europe to Far East), Kazakhstan
  • C. punctigera Simon, 1889 – India

Cercidia is a genus of orb-weaver spiders (family Araneidae). As of December 2025, it contained only three species.[1]

Description

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The genus Cercidia can be distinguished from other Palearctic araneid genera by the possession of a scutum bearing spines and having a clypeus about 2.5 times the size of the median eyes. In related species, the clypeus is less than or equal to the diameter of the anterior median eyes.[2]

Taxonomy

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The genus was first erected in 1866 by Anton Menge using the name Cerceis. However, this genus name had already been used in 1840 for a genus of crustaceans, so was not available. The replacement name Cercidia was published by Tamerlan Thorell in 1869.[1][3] The name is derived from the Greek κερκίς 'shuttle'.[3]

In 1975, Herbert Walter Levi considered that Cercidia contained only one certain species, C. prominens. He doubted that C. punctigera belonged to the genus.[4] The third species accepted by the World Spider Catalog as of December 2025, C. levii, was not described until 1985.[1]

References

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