CreatureData

Raft spider

Dolomedes fimbriatus (Clerck, 1757)

Status not recordedspiders

The raft spider (Dolomedes fimbriatus) is a species in the family Dolomedidae, order Araneae. Recorded adults reach 2.2 cm in length. Source checklists list it for 2 countries: Germany and Italy.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the raft spider

Weight
Not recorded
Length
9 mm – 2.2 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Active
By day (diurnal)src for Active
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
2 countriessrc for Countries on record

How big is the raft spider?

RAFT SPIDER · LENGTH 2.2 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 2.2 cm, the recorded maximum length of the raft spider is about 1.3% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

What does the raft spider eat, and what eats it?

Species recorded in published studies and collections.

Recorded prey of the raft spider

The 24 best supported of 27 on record

  1. Slender amber snail Oxyloma elegans3 sources
  2. Marpissa radiata3 sources
  3. Vagrant darter Sympetrum vulgatum3 sources
  4. Clubiona stagnatilis3 sources
  5. Marmalade fly Episyrphus balteatus3 sources
  6. Furrow spider Larinioides cornutus3 sources
  7. Bordered orbweaver Neoscona adianta3 sources
  8. Tent spider Pisaura mirabilis3 sources
  9. Ramshorn Planorbis planorbis3 sources
  10. Sepedon spinipes3 sources
  11. Giant pondsnail Stagnicola corvus3 sources
  12. Large amber snail Succinea putris3 sources
Show 12 more
  1. Ruddy darter Sympetrum sanguineum3 sources
  2. Wasp spider Argiope bruennichi3 sources
  3. Green leafhopper Cicadella viridis3 sources
  4. Tree wasp Dolichovespula sylvestris3 sources
  5. Six spotted Snailkiller Ilione albiseta3 sources
  6. Blue-tailed damselfly Ischnura elegans3 sources
  7. Great pons snail Lymnaea stagnalis3 sources
  8. Southern wainscot Mythimna straminea3 sources
  9. Cellar snail Oxychilus cellarius3 sources
  10. Common darter Sympetrum striolatum3 sources
  11. Slender ground hopper Tetrix subulata3 sources
  12. Grooved running crab spider Tibellus maritimus3 sources

Recorded predators of the raft spider

3 on record

  1. Common grasshopper warbler Locustella naevia3 sources
  2. Tent spider Pisaura mirabilis3 sources
  3. Common reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus2 sources

Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).

References for these records

Where does the raft spider live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The raft spider is listed for 2 countries.

GermanyItaly
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Germany
  2. Italy

Why a country list is not a range map

Listed by: WSC (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

Is the raft spider endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the raft spider classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classArachnida
  4. orderAraneae
  5. familyDolomedidae
  6. genusDolomedes
  7. SpeciesDolomedes fimbriatus (Clerck, 1757)

Synonyms Aranea 14-punctata, Aranea elegans, Aranea elongata, Aranea marginata, Aranea paludosa, Aranea schaefferi, Aranea virescens, Araneus fimbriatus, Araneus undatus, Argyroneta bicolor, Dolomedes elegans, Dolomedes italicus, Dolomedes ornatus

Other names and names in other languages (10)
  • lovčík vodníCzech
  • Stor rovedderkopDanish
  • Gulrandet rovedderkopDanish
  • Gerandete JagdspinneGerman
  • rantahämähäkkiFinnish
  • raitarannakkiFinnish
  • myredderkoppNorwegian Bokmål
  • Gerande oeverspinDutch
  • gáddeheavdniNorthern Sami
  • kärrspindelSwedish

Catalogue of LifeITISTAXREFWikidata

Relatives of the raft spider

Other species in the same genus Dolomedes.

Water spider

Dolomedes aquaticus

DolomedidaeNo free photo yet

CompareRaft spider vs Fen raft spiderRaft spider vs Water spiderRaft spider vs Nurseryweb spiderRaft spider vs Okefenokee fishing spider

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the raft spider?

An adult raft spider measures 9 mm – 2.2 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the raft spider live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the raft spider for 2 countries: Germany and Italy. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

What kind of animal is the raft spider?

The raft spider (Dolomedes fimbriatus) belongs to the family Dolomedidae in the order Araneae.

What eats the raft spider?

Animals recorded preying on the raft spider include common grasshopper warbler, tent spider and common reed bunting. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Which animals does the raft spider eat?

Animals recorded as prey of the raft spider include slender amber snail, marpissa radiata, vagrant darter and clubiona stagnatilis. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Raft spider (Dolomedes fimbriatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/raft-spider

MLA

“Raft spider (Dolomedes fimbriatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/raft-spider.

BibTeX
@misc{raft_spider_2026,
  title = {Raft spider (Dolomedes fimbriatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/raft-spider},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}