''Araneus'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of common
orb-weaving spiders. It includes about 650
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...
, among which are the
European garden spider
The spider species ''Araneus diadematus'' is commonly called the European garden spider, diadem spider, orangie, cross spider, and crowned orb weaver. It is sometimes called the pumpkin spider, although this name is also used for a different spec ...
and the
barn spider. The genus was erected by
Carl Alexander Clerck
Carl Alexander Clerck (1709 – 22 July 1765) was a Swedish entomologist and arachnologist.
Clerck came from a family in the petty nobility and entered the University of Uppsala in 1726. Little is known of his studies; although a contemporary of ...
in 1757.
Description
Spiders of this genus present perhaps the most obvious case of
sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...
among all of the orb-weaver family, with males being normally to the size of females. In ''A. diadematus'', for example, last-molt females can reach the body size up to 1 in (2.5 cm), while most males seldom grow over 0.3 in (1 cm), both excluding leg span. Males are differentiated from females by a much smaller and more elongated abdomen, longer legs, and the inability to catch or consume prey bigger than themselves.
In females, the
epigyne has a long scape (a tongue-like appendage). Male
pedipalp
Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the second pair of appendages of chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicerae ("jaws") an ...
s have a hook-like terminal
apophysis. Abdominal
tubercles
In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal.
In plants
A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection, ...
are present anterolaterally.
Taxonomic history
''Araneus'' was, for much of its history, called ''Epeira''. The latter name is now considered a
junior synonym
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.
* In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linn ...
of ''Araneus'', as the latter was published almost 50 years earlier.
''Epeira'' was first coined by
Charles Athanase Walckenaer
Baron Charles Athanase Walckenaer (25 December 1771 – 28 April 1852) was a French civil servant and scientist.
Biography
Walckenaer was born in Paris and studied at the universities of Oxford and Glasgow. In 1793 he was appointed head of t ...
in 1805, for a range of spiders now considered
Araneidae
Orb-weaver spiders are members of the spider family Araneidae. They are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields, and forests. The English word "orb" can mean "circular", hence the English name ...
(orb-weavers). Over time, a rather diverse set of spiders was grouped under this genus name, including species from the modern families
Araneidae
Orb-weaver spiders are members of the spider family Araneidae. They are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields, and forests. The English word "orb" can mean "circular", hence the English name ...
,
Mimetidae
Pirate spiders, members of the family Mimetidae, are araneomorph spiders which typically feed on other spiders.
The family Mimetidae contains roughly 200 species divided among 12 genera, of which ''Mimetus'' and ''Ero'' are the most common. Mim ...
(''Mimetus syllepsicus'' described by
Nicholas Marcellus Hentz
Nicholas Marcellus Hentz (July 25, 1797 – November 4, 1856) was a French American educator and arachnologist.
Biography
Hentz was born in Versailles, France. He was the youngest child of Charles Nicholas Arnould Hentz and Marie-Anne Therese ...
in 1832),
Tetragnathidae,
Theridiidae
Theridiidae, also known as the tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders and comb-footed spiders, is a large family of araneomorph spiders first described by Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1833. This diverse, globally distributed family includes over 3,000 sp ...
,
Theridiosomatidae
The ray spiders (Theridiosomatidae) are a family of spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1881. They are most recognizable for their construction of cone-shaped webs.
The family contains several genera which actively hunt for prey by using ...
(''
Theridiosoma gemmosum
''Theridiosoma gemmosum'' is a species of spider in the family Theridiosomatidae, known as ray spiders. It is widely distributed in the Holarctic region. A small spider with a shiny globular abdomen, it constructs a conical orb web.
Description ...
'', described by
Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1877 as ''Theridion gemmosum''),
Titanoecidae
Titanoecidae is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Pekka T. Lehtinen in 1967. It is fairly widespread in the New World and Eurasia with five genera and more than 50 species worldwide. These are mostly dark-colored builders of "woo ...
(''
Nurscia albomaculata
''Nurscia'' is a genus of spiders in the family Titanoecidae. It is a relatively widespread genus with species being found in both Europe and Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either consi ...
'', described by
Hippolyte Lucas in 1846 as ''Epeira albo-maculata'') and
Uloboridae
Uloboridae is a family of non-venomous spiders, known as cribellate orb weavers or hackled orb weavers. Their lack of venom glands is a secondarily evolved trait. Instead, they wrap their prey thoroughly in silk, cover it in regurgitated digestive ...
(''
Uloborus glomosus'', described by Walckenaer in 1842 as ''Epeira glomosus'').
[Platnick, Norman I. (2009)]
The World Spider Catalog
version 9.5. ''American Museum of Natural History''. ''Epeira cylindrica''
O. P.-Cambridge, 1889 was at a time placed in the
Linyphiidae and is considered ''
incertae sedis
' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertain ...
'', as is "''Araneus''" ''cylindriformis''
( Roewer, 1942).
''Epeira'' was synonymized with the genus ''Aranea'' by
William Elford Leach
William Elford Leach FRS (2 February 1791 – 25 August 1836) was an English zoologist and marine biologist.
Life and work
Elford Leach was born at Hoe Gate, Plymouth, the son of an attorney. At the age of twelve he began a medical appre ...
in 1815, and with ''Araneus'' by
Eugène Simon
Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects and spiders, but also on birds and plants. He is by far the most prolific spider taxonomist in history, describing over 4 ...
in 1904, though this synonymy was not universally recognized.
[ Bonnet, Pierre (1955): ''Bibliographia Araneorum''. Vol. 2.]
Throughout the 19th century, ''Epeira'' was used as a catch-all genus, similar to the once ubiquitous
salticid
Jumping spiders are a group of spiders that constitute the family Salticidae. As of 2019, this family contained over 600 described genera and over 6,000 described species, making it the largest family of spiders at 13% of all species. Jumping spi ...
genus ''
Attus''. However, from 1911, to its last mention in 1957, only very few authors continued to use the genus in their publications, notably Franganillo (1913, 1918), Hingston (1932), Kaston (1948), and Marples (1957). Chamberlin and Ivie published a new species, ''Epeira miniata'', in 1944, which was rejected.
Jean-Henri Fabre refers to ''
Argiope'' spiders as ''Epeira'' in his 1928 book ''The Life of the Spider'' (''La Vie des araignées''), within the family "Epeirae".
James Henry Emerton
James Henry Emerton (March 31, 1847 – December 5, 1931) was an American arachnologist and illustrator.
Early life
Emerton was born at Salem, Massachusetts, on March 31, 1847. He was rather frail, and a young helper in his father's drug store, Ge ...
also uses the genus ''Epeira'' in his 1902 book ''The Common Spiders of the United States'', but refers to spiders mostly now considered ''Araneus''. The popular 1893 book ''American Spiders and their Spinningwork'' by
Henry Christopher McCook also uses ''Epeira'' extensively.
The short documentary ''Epeira diadema'' (1952) by Italian director
Alberto Ancilotto was nominated for an
Oscar in 1953. It is about the spider today known as ''
Araneus diadematus
The spider species ''Araneus diadematus'' is commonly called the European garden spider, diadem spider, orangie, cross spider, and crowned orb weaver. It is sometimes called the pumpkin spider, although this name is also used for a different spec ...
''.
Venom
''Araneus'' spider
venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...
s vary in toxicity, but often deliver a
dry bite A dry bite is a bite by a venomous animal in which no venom is released. Dry snake bites are called "venomous snake bite without envenoming". A dry bite from a snake can still be painful, and be accompanied by bleeding, inflammation, swelling and/o ...
(8 of 10 occasions). Females bite more often than males, which would rather flee or
feign death.
See also
*
List of ''Araneus'' species
References
External links
Image of variations in ''A. trifolium''(fro
Pictures of US ''Araneus'' species(free for noncommercial use)
Pictures of ''A. trifolium''(free for noncommercial use)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1413947
Araneomorphae genera
Taxa named by Carl Alexander Clerck