''Leucauge'' is a spider genus of
long-jawed orb weavers, with over 160 species and fully
pantropical 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 Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
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 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.
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 one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory.
Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...
''
* ''
Leucauge dromedaria'' (silver orb-weaver, horizontal orb-weaver)
* ''
Leucauge mabelae
''Leucauge'' is a spider genus of long-jawed orb weavers, with over 160 species and fully pantropical distribution.
The genus was first documented in Scottish zoologist Adam White's 1841 ''Description of new or little known Arachnida''. Charl ...
''
* ''
Leucauge mariana''
* ''
Leucauge subblanda''
* ''
Leucauge subgemmea''
* ''
Leucauge tessellata''
* ''
Leucauge undulata''
* ''
Leucauge venusta'' (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 diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...
," 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 (, , ) is the largest List of national parks of Thailand, national park of Thailand. It is on the border with Myanmar (Burma), contiguous with the Tanintharyi Nature Reserve. It is a popular park owing to its proximit ...
, Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
File:Leucauge sp, Kaeng Krachan National Park (2).jpg, L. sp., Kaeng Krachan National Park
Kaeng Krachan National Park (, , ) is the largest List of national parks of Thailand, national park of Thailand. It is on the border with Myanmar (Burma), contiguous with the Tanintharyi Nature Reserve. It is a popular park owing to its proximit ...
, Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
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 in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
File:Leucauge mariana dorsal PC020091BESTDOR.jpg, Dorsal view of a mature female '' Leucauge mariana''
File:Leucauge argyra (70275).jpg, '' Leucauge argyra'' in Costa Rica
References
Further reading
* "Riparian insects and the diet of the riparian spider ''Leucauge celebisiana'' (Araneae: Tetragnathidae)".
PDF
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 Ocean, Pacific and Caribbean Sea, Caribbean. A small ...
''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2108621
Tetragnathidae genera
Pantropical spiders