''Argiope submaronica'' is a
species of
spider in the family
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), found from Mexico to Bolivia, and in Brazil. The name was at one time considered a
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
of ''
Argiope argentata'', but ''A. submaronica'' is now treated as a separate species. It has also been known under the synonym ''Argiope savignyi''.
[
It was observed to capture and feed on the proboscis bat '' Rhynchonycteris naso'' in ]Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, totally encasing the bat in silk during the course of a day.[Timm & Losilla 2007]
Through an observational study done at the La Selva Biological Station, they saw that the bats are usually caught on the spider’s web and then fully wrapped by the spider’s silk. Afterward, the spider was observed to be near or on the bat as the day went by and manipulation of its parts of the mouth on the bat signified active feeding.[Timm & Losilla 2007] This was the first recorded phenomenon of an emballonurid bat being preyed on by an invertebrate, and the first documented proof of Argiope being able to catch and consume a mammal.
''A. savignyi'' sometimes spins a silk disc, sometimes a cruciate pattern, and sometimes combines both types.
These structures are thought to provide five purposes: protection from predators, advertising to vertebrates to avoid web damage, prey attraction, web stability, and a source of shade. Different designs had different purposes or functions.[Herberstein ''et al.'' 2000]
References
*Herberstein, M. E.; Craig, C. L.; Coddington, J. A. & Elgar, M. A. (2000): The functional significance of silk decorations of orb-web spiders: a critical review of the empirical evidence. ''Biological Reviews'' 75: 649-669
Abstract
*Timm, Robert M. & Losilla, Mauricio (2007): Orb-weaving Spider, ''Argiope savignyi'' (Araneidae), Predation on the Proboscis Bat ''Rhynchonycteris naso'' (Emballonuridae). ''Caribbean Journal of Science'' 43(2): 282-284
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Further reading
*Levi, Herbert W. (1968): The spider genera ''Gea'' and ''Argiope'' in America (Araneae: Araneidae). ''Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv.'' 136: 319-352.
*Robinson, Michael H. & Robinson, Barbara (1977): Associations Between Flies and Spiders: Bibiocommensalism and Dipsoparasitism? '' Psyche'' 84: 150-157
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*Nentwig, Wolfgang (1985): Prey analysis of four species of tropical orb-weaving spiders (Araneae: Araneidae) and a comparison with araneids of the temperate zone. ''Oecologia'' 66(4): 580-594.
*Rovner, Jerome S. (1989): Submersion survival in aerial web-weaving spiders from a tropical wet forest. ''Journal of Arachnology'' 17: 242-245
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{{Taxonbar, from1=Q27444424, from2=Q1304701
submaronica
Spiders of Mexico
Spiders of Central America
Spiders of South America
Spiders described in 1916