''Araneus angulatus'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

orb-weaving spider 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 ...

s found in the

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The ...

. It resembles the

European garden spider The spider species ''Araneus diadematus'' is commonly called the European garden spider, cross orbweaver, diadem spider, orangie, cross spider, and crowned orb weaver. It is sometimes called the pumpkin spider, although this name is also used fo ...

, ''Araneus diadematus'', but has distinctive tubercles on its abdomen. The species was first described in '' Aranei Svecici'' in 1757, where it was the first species described, making ''Araneus angulatus'' the first scientific name of an animal that is still in use.

Description

''Araneus angulatus'' closely resembles the more frequently encountered

, ''Araneus diadematus'', but can be distinguished by the presence of angular

tubercle 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 projectio ...

s on the abdomen.

Distribution

''Araneus angulatus'' is found across a wide geographical range in the

. It is widespread in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, although rarer in

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

. ''A. angulatus'' is rare in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where it is restricted to areas near the South coast of England.

Subspecies

Six subspecies are currently recognized: * ''Araneus angulatus afolius'' (Franganillo, 1909) — Portugal * ''Araneus angulatus atricolor'' Simon, 1929 — France * ''Araneus angulatus levifolius'' (Franganillo, 1909) — Portugal * ''Araneus angulatus niger'' (Franganillo, 1918) — Spain * ''Araneus angulatus nitidifolius'' (Franganillo, 1909) — Portugal * ''Araneus angulatus personatus'' Simon, 1929 Much of the previous subspecies are now part of '' Araneus pallidus''.

Ecology

''A. angulatus'' constructs a large orb web, suspended from bushes and trees, often with support lines leading to the ground. Unlike ''A. diadematus'', the web of ''A. angulatus'' has no retreat, so the spider must sit in the centre of the web while it waits for prey. It detects prey items by vibrations they cause in the web, but has also been observed during a country

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

, and reported to be "indifferent to crowds, music and

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

Taxonomic history

''Araneus angulatus'' was the first of the 66 species described in

Carl Alexander Clerck Carl Alexander Clerck (1709 – 22 July 1765) was a Sweden, Swedish entomologist and arachnology, arachnologist. Clerck came from a family in the petty Swedish nobility, nobility and entered the University of Uppsala in 1726. Little is known of hi ...

's 1757 work ' / '. Under the

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted Convention (norm), convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific name, scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the I ...

' has precedence over the 10th edition of

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

' ''

Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the Orthographic ligature, ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Sweden, Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the syste ...

'' from 1758, and is therefore the first work to contain

scientific name In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

s of animals that are still in use.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1498643 angulatus Spiders of Europe Spiders described in 1757 Palearctic spiders Taxa named by Carl Alexander Clerck