''Leucauge'' () is a spider genus of long-jawed orb weavers, with over 160 species and fully

pantropical A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and '' Bacopa''. ''Neotropical'' is a zoogeographic te ...

distribution. The genus was first documented in Scottish zoologist Adam White's 1841 ''Description of new or little known Arachnida''.

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

had suggested the name of the genus and collected the first specimen in May 1832, later named ''L. argyrobapta''. A vague description and the loss of the only specimen left the genus ill-defined. ''Leucauge'' developed into something of a

wastebasket taxon Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined ...

containing 300 loosely related species, until research in the year 2010 resolved ''L. argyrobapta'' as a synonym of the quite common '' L. venusta'' and allowed revision and reclassing of the genus. However, a 2018 paper restored '' Leucauge argyrobapta'' as a separate species. Orchard orb weaver (Leucauge venusta)

The body and leg shapes and the silver, black and yellow markings of ''Leucauge'' females make identification of the genus relatively easy. They have two rows of long, slender curved hairs on the femurs of the fourth leg. In most cases the web is slanted rather than vertical and the spider rests in the middle of the web with its underside facing upwards.

Selected species

The

World Spider Catalog The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...

accepted 167 species in the genus . This number includes: * '' Leucauge argyra'' * '' Leucauge argyrobapta'' * '' Leucauge celebesiana'' * '' Leucauge decorata'' * '' Leucauge digna'' (worthy orb-weaver) – ''

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constit ...

'' * '' Leucauge dromedaria'' (silver orb-weaver, horizontal orb-weaver) * '' Leucauge mabelae'' * ''

Leucauge mariana ''Leucauge mariana'' is a long-jawed orb weaver spider, native to Central America and South America. Its web building and sexual behavior have been studied extensively. Males perform several kinds of courtship behavior to induce females to copu ...

'' * '' Leucauge subblanda'' * '' Leucauge subgemmea'' * '' Leucauge tessellata'' * '' Leucauge undulata'' * ''

Leucauge venusta ''Leucauge venusta'', known as the orchard spider, is a long-jawed orbweaver spider that occurs from southern Canada to Colombia, along the East coast, reaching into the central US, also in South Asia.The web is often oriented horizontally, with ...

'' (orchard spider, orchard orb-weaver)

Name

Greek λευκός (''leukos'') means "white", while αὐγή (''augḗ'') means "

dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's ...

," so called because ''Leucauge'' spiders build their first

web Web most often refers to: * Spider web, a silken structure created by the animal * World Wide Web or the Web, an Internet-based hypertext system Web, WEB, or the Web may also refer to: Computing * WEB, a literate programming system created by ...

before dawn.

Gallery

File:Leucauge sp, Kaeng Krachan National Park (1).jpg, L. sp.,

Kaeng Krachan National Park Kaeng Krachan National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติแก่งกระจาน, , ) is the largest national park of Thailand. It is on the border with Burma, contiguous with the Tanintharyi Nature Reserve. It is a pop ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

File:Leucauge sp, Kaeng Krachan National Park (2).jpg, L. sp.,

File:Spider wyn2.jpg, ''L. tessellata'' or related species File:Mabel orchard spider (Leucauge mabelae).jpg, Mabel orchard spider, ''L. mabelae'',

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

File:Leucauge mariana dorsal PC020091BESTDOR.jpg, Dorsal view of a mature female ''

References

External links

about to be eaten by ''

Anolis carolinensis ''Anolis carolinensis'' or green anole () (among other names below) is a tree-dwelling species of anole lizard native to the southeastern United States and introduced to islands in the Pacific and Caribbean. A small to medium-sized lizard, th ...

'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q2108621 Araneomorphae genera Pantropical spiders

Selected species

Name

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links