Dolomedes plantarius has a wide range, extending from northern Spain north to Scandinavia, and from Britain east to European Russia, and beyond to southern Siberia and Kazakhstan. The Spiders of Europe website can be used to contrast this range with that of D. fimbriatus. The European ranges of the  two species are not dissimilar but D. fimbriatus extends much further east into Central Asia and Japan.

With the likely exception of most northern part of its range, D. plantarius populations are mostly small and fragmented as a result of wide-scale loss and degradation of wetlands. A recent reevaluation of the species’ global status (Milano et al. 2022) reconfirmed the Vulnerable status first given to it in 1996 (IUCN 1996, 2026).

Because of its rarity, and continuing threats to its habitat exacerbated by climate change, the species is either Red Listed or given legal protection, or both, in many European countries (Milano et al. 2021 – see also Conservation Status). 

References

IUCN. 2026. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2026-1. https://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed on 27/07/2026.

IUCN 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of threatened animals. IUCN Gland, Switzerland.

Milano, F., Blick, T., Cardoso, P., Chatzaki, M., Fukushima, C. S., Gajdoš, P., Gibbons, A. T., Henriques, S., Macias-Hernandez, N., Mammola, S., Nentwig, W., Nolan, M., Pétillon, J., Polchaninova, N., Řezáč, M., Sandstrom, J., Smith, H., Wiśniewski, K., & Isaia, M. 2021. Spider conservation in Europe: a review. Biological Conservation 256, [109020]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109020

Milano, F., Cardoso, P., Mammolo, S., Smith, H. & Isaia, M. 2022. Trends in habitat suitability and conservation status of aquatic spiders in Europe. Biological Conservation 275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109767