Meta menardi  |
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| Meta menardi is the second of Nottinghamshire's very large cave spiders which is found in sites of complete darkness. Most often found in caves and railway tunnels, Meta menardi also occurs in other dark places such as cellars and ice houses. Although there might appear to be visual differences in abdomen colouration to Meta bourneti, accurate identification is best achieved by examination of the female's epigyne. In Nottinghamshire, this spider is currently known only from the caves at Cresswell Crags, a site which straddles the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire border. Nationally, Meta menardi is much commonly recorded than Meta bourneti, but this may possibly be through casual assumption that the latter spider is the least likely to be encountered. The two photographs shown here, were originally sent to us for identification by Nick Crouch, who visited the site in late October 2010 and who has kindly allowed use of his photographs. | ||
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| Adult female photographed October 2010 | Sub-adult photographed in October 2010 | |
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| UK distribution of Meta menardi
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 The UK distribution maps on eakringbirds.com are provided by the National Biodiversity Network (NBN Gateway) Each red square on the map indicates species present in 10km grid squares. Updated September 2011 |
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