Cicurina baronia NatureServe Explorer Species Reports — NatureServe Explorer is a source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals and ecological communtities of the U.S and Canada. NatureServe Explorer provides in-depth information on rare and endangered species, but includes common plants and animals too. NatureServe Explorer is a product of NatureServe in collaboration with the Natural Heritage Network.
ITIS Reports — Cicurina baronia ITIS (the Integrated Taxonomic Information System) is a source for authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world. Cicurina baronia is a rare species of spider in the family Hahniidae known by the common name Robber Baron cave meshweaver. The species is endemic to the San Antonio, Texas area of the United States. It is one of nine species deemed the Bexar County Invertebrates, as all nine are found in similar cave environments in the central region of Texas. These species range in size from one millimetre to one centimetre. They are also eyeless or essentially eyeless and pale in coloration. The Bexar County Invertebrates are troglobites, species which spend their entire lives in subterranean environments, inhabiting karst limestone caves and mesocaverns. Currently, these species have only been found in the karst areas in Bexar county, which were deemed critical habitats to the species in a 2012 ruling. C. baronia specifically has only been positively identified in the Robber Baron Cave and one other cave in Alamo heights (Bexar County Distribution). Nutrient sources in this environment include leaf litter, animal droppings, and animal carcasses, making the cave ecosystem very dependent on the habitat on the surface. Troglobites also require stable temperatures and high humidity, with the cave temperature typically being close to the annual surface temperature but with much less variation. Relative humidity in the caves is normally near 100%.
FWS Digital Media Library — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Digital Library is a searchable collection of selected images, historical artifacts, audio clips, publications, and video.
