''Linyphia triangularis'' is a European species of

spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species d ...

in the family

Linyphiidae Linyphiidae, spiders commonly known as sheet weavers (from the shape of their webs), or money spiders (in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and in Portugal, from the superstition that if such a spider is seen running on you, ...

first described 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 his 1758 ''

Svenska Spindlar The book ' or ' ( Swedish and Latin, respectively, for "Swedish spiders") is one of the major works of the Swedish arachnologist and entomologist Carl Alexander Clerck and was first published in Stockholm in the year 1757. It was the first compr ...

''.

Description

''Linyphia triangularis'' grows up to long. The

carapace A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the und ...

is pale brown with darker markings along the edges and down the centre line; the

opisthosoma The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma ( cephalothorax). It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata (arachnids, horseshoe crabs and others). Although it is similar in most respects ...

has a coarsely serrate brown band against a white background, with further brown markings along the sides. The legs are greyish brown, and bear many long spines.

Distribution

''Linyphia triangularis'' is abundant throughout Europe. It has been introduced to the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

, having been first reported there on 28 August 1983 at Stover Corner. It has been recorded from at least 15 of the state's 16 counties, and is now abundant within

Acadia National Park Acadia National Park is an American national park located along the mid-section of the Maine coast, southwest of Bar Harbor. The park preserves about half of Mount Desert Island, part of the Isle au Haut, the tip of the Schoodic Peninsula, an ...

and some other coastal parts of the state.

Ecology

''Linyphia triangularis'' lives in a wide range of habitats, where it may be found among low bushes and vegetation. It spins a horizontal sheet-web, and rests on the underside of the web for its prey. Adults are active in the late summer and autumn. The prey are snared by "barrage lines" above the web, and fall onto the horizontal sheet, where they are killed by ''L. triangularis'', but are not wrapped in silk.

References

External links

* * * {{Taxonbar , from=Q135646 Linyphiidae Spiders of Europe Spiders described in 1758 Articles containing video clips Taxa named by Carl Alexander Clerck