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Comments & ID Thoughts
I think this is the fishing spider or common white-flanked water spider, Nilus albocinctus. It was on surface water on the forest floor in lowland tropical rainforest, and was photographed at night.
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Apr 21, 2020
- Photographed: Apr 24, 2014
- Spider: Nilus albocinctus (Common White-flanked Water Spider)
- Location: Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, Malaysia
- Spotted Outdoors: Freshwater river, lake, stream
- Found in web?: No
- Attributes: Dorsal
Mar 19, 2019
Mar 11, 2019
Taman Negara National Park, Pahang State, 
I believe this is a American nursery web spider, Pisaurina mira
Pisaurina mira occurs in the eastern USA and Canada, whereas my photo was taken on the island of Borneo, on the other side of the world. According to Wikipedia, “Pisaurina mira is a species of spider in the family Pisauridae, the members of which are commonly called ‘nursery web spiders.’ They are similar to wolf spiders (Lycosidae) and to the long-legged water spiders (Trechaleidae).” The specimen in my photo looks like other examples of Nilus albocinctus that are on the Web, and as it was sitting on water I think that is what it is, not Pisaurina mira.
I agree. It is one of the species that we have listed for Malaysia in “Locations.” LilDame – remember to look at the sighting location and what the submitter suggests for an identification. They’ve often done some research and know more about their local spiders than we do. 🙂 Thank you for working, a not quite correct response can be better than none because it starts a debate that keeps the discussion open. Alan – thank you for teaching. If you have the time please check our other submissions (Locations in the three bar icon menu) to see if you… Read more »
Alanfeatherstone, I met a Featherstone in the U.S. He was the creator of the iconic plastic lawn flamingo over 50 years ago. He is the reason that the plastic flamingo in the Toy Story Pixar movies is named Featherstone. He was a fun guy (with pink business cards).
Iḿ sorry
Thanks, seriously- you don’t have to apologize for the learning process. I’m sure I’m making some mistakes or could be doing things better and I’ll try to change what I know and what I do as I discover the need. I’ve not paid attention to the location or the identification given by the submitter before. Itsy reminded me MANY times to pay attention to range. 🙂
Yea your right 🙂
Thanks for the anecdotal story. I’m sure he was a fun guy, but his interests were obviously very different to mine!
Thanks for the feedback. I’m a relative novice myself to identifying spiders from beyond Scotland (where I live), but if I can help at all I will.