#4320 · 🕷️ spiders & kin

Raft Spider

🇳🇱 Gerande oeverspin ·Dolomedes fimbriatus

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Ramunė Vakarė · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
2. © Ramunė Vakarė · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
3. © Bart Wursten · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
4. © Nigel Jones · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
5. Alytus County, Lithuania:© kellyr115 · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. Dorset, England, GB:© Wayne Sayers · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. Tauragės r. sav., Lietuva:© Ramunė Vakarė · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
8. Конаковский р-н, Тверская обл., Россия:© Иван Матершев · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. 23340 Gentioux-Pigerolles, France:© Victor HOYEAU · CC BY-NC 4.0
10. Парковая улица, Кологрив, Костромская область, RU:© lebedeva_na · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

The raft spider , scientific name Dolomedes fimbriatus , is a European spider of the family Pisauridae. The raft spider is one of the two largest spiders in the United Kingdom, and derives its name from its ability to walk on water.

base stats

NL sightings 11iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 5,633iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 11 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
5,633 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Carl Alexander Clerck in 1757 (269 years ago).

fact sheet

English: Raft Spider
Nederlands: Gerande oeverspin
scientific name: Dolomedes fimbriatus
class: Arachnida
order: Araneae
family: Dolomedidae
sightings in NL: 11
sightings in Europe: 1,717
sightings worldwide: 5,633
GBIF records in NL: 496
weight: —
length: —
lifespan: —
named: 1757 by Carl Alexander Clerck

relatives· Dolomedidae

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 121778, Wikidata Q847066, GBIF 2150955, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.