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 of the group. Araneids have eight similar eyes, hairy or spiny legs, and no stridulating organs.
The Australian garden orb weaver spider is a very common species of spider with many variants in size, shape, and colour across the coastal and northern regions of Australia. They have very large abdomens when well-fed and exhibit a tremendous colour-range from off-white through tan, brown to almost black. They have a roughly leaf-shaped pattern on the top of their abdomen with a complex outline that is darker than the surrounding area. There may also be several whitish spots or one or more stripes. The spiders' cephalothoraxes (heads) and proximal leg segments are usually darker, mostly reddish or reddish brown. They are able to change their colour with each moult to better match the background upon which they rest during the day.
Gasteracantha is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first named by Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1833. Species of the genus are known as spiny-backed orb-weavers, spiny orb-weavers, or spiny spiders. The females of most species are brightly colored with six prominent spines on their broad, hardened, shell-like abdomens. The name Gasteracantha is derived from the Greek gaster (γαστήρ), meaning "belly, abdomen", and akantha (άκανθα), meaning "thorn, spine". Spiny-backed orb-weavers are sometimes colloquially called "crab spiders" because of their shape, but they are not closely related to the true crab spiders. Other colloquial names for certain species include thorn spider, star spider, kite spider, or jewel spider.
Missulena is a genus of mygalomorph spiders in the family Actinopodidae. It was first described by Charles Walckenaer in 1805, and is a senior synonym of Eriodon. M. tussulena is found in Chile, but the rest are indigenous to Australia. They are sometimes referred to as "mouse spiders" from the now-disproven belief that they dig deep burrows similar to those of mice. Scotophaeus blackwalli is also called a "mouse spider", but it is smaller and not closely related.
The Artoriinae are a subfamily of wolf spiders. The monophyly of the subfamily has been confirmed in a molecular phylogenetic study, although the relationships among the subfamilies was shown to be less certain.
Arkys, also known as triangular spider or ambush spider, is a genus of Australian araneomorph spiders in the family Arkyidae, first described by Charles Athanase Walckenaer in 1837. They are often small, with a triangular shaped abdomen, and are found in Australia and some of its surrounding islands. They don't build webs, but can often be found on leaves and tips of flower heads. Their egg sacs are pinkish-orange and spherical, and are made late in the summer.
Cyrtophorinae is a subfamily of spiders in the orb-weaver spider family. Unlike other orb-weavers, spiders belonging to Cyrtophorinae build horizontal, finely meshed platforms within a tangle of irregular webs. The usually dome-shaped platform is a non-sticky orb web.
Larinia is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1874.
The spider species Plebs eburnus is commonly referred to as the eastern grass orb-weaver or the eastern bush orb-weaver, and sometimes more simply as the bush orb-weaver. It is an orb-weaver spider from the family Araneidae endemic to Australia. It is a very common spider with distinctive white markings, which give it the species name eburnus pertaining to ivory. It is found in scrub and tall grasses where the female constructs a vertical web usually no more than 2 metres from the ground, and stays there day and night. The web of some of these spiders has been seen to be decorated with nearly vertical stabilimentum. The stabilimentum of the related P.cyphoxis is usually observed vertical.
Plebs is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by M. M. Joseph & V. W. Framenau in 2012. Though many of its species have been moved around, a 2012 taxonomic revision suggested that these spiders comprise a monophyletic genus of closely related spiders that evolved in Australia and, through subsequent movements, spread into parts of Asia and Pacific islands.
Backobourkia is a genus of South Pacific orb-weaver spiders first described by Volker Framenau, Nadine Dupérré, Todd Blackledge & Cor Vink in 2010. It is a common Australian spider, closely related to Eriophora and placed in the "coxal hook clade" of the Araneinae subfamily of Araneidae. Females are generally the same size among all species, but males are much smaller, suggesting male dwarfism throughout the genus. The genus name is a play on the well-known Australian idiom, "Back of Bourke", meaning very remote and beyond the limits of civilization.
Cyrtobill is a genus of Australian orb-weaver spiders containing the single species, Cyrtobill darwini. It was first described by V. W. Framenau & N. Scharff in 2009, and has only been found in Australia.
Heurodes was a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Eugen von Keyserling in 1886. It previously contained three species, Heurodes fratrellus and Heurodes turritus, both now considered nomen dubium, and Heurodes porcula, now considered a synonym of Eriovixia porcula(Simon, 1877)
Telaprocera is a genus of Australian orb-weaver spiders first described by A. M. T. Harmer & V. W. Framenau in 2008. As of April 2019 it contains only two species.
Artoria is a genus of spiders in the family Lycosidae. It was first described in 1877 by Tamerlan Thorell, and the type species is Artoria parvula. In 1960, Roewer erected the genera Artoriella and Trabeola. However, in 2002, Volker Framenau reviewed Artoria and synonymised both these genera with Artoria.
Collina glabicira is a species of Tasmanian orb-weaver spiders first described by A. T. Urquhart in 1891, and the only species in the genus Collina. It is known from a single female holotype that is not among the types at the Canterbury Museum, nor was a plate of the figure ever printed. The original description alone is not enough to identify it, so this species and its genus are considered nomina dubia.
Acroaspis decorosa is a species of orbweaver spider that is endemic to New Zealand.
Cyrtarachninae is a subfamily of spiders in the family Araneidae. The group has been circumscribed in several different ways. It originated as the group Cyrtarachneae, described by Eugène Simon in 1892. The group was later treated at different ranks: as a tribe, both under Simon's name and as Cyrtarachnini, and as the subfamily Cyrtarachninae. Circumscriptions have varied. The broadest circumscription, Cyrtarachninae sensu lato (s.l.), includes three of Simon's original groups, including the bolas spiders. Unlike most araneids, members of the subfamily do not construct orb webs, some not using webs at all to capture prey, some using one or more sticky drops on a single line, while others construct webs with few widely spaced non-spiral threads, some triangular. Many have been shown to attract prey by producing analogues of insect sex pheromones, particularly to attract male moths. Adult females may mimic snails, bird droppings and other objects, and so are able to remain exposed during the day time, capturing prey at night.
Volker W. Framenau is a German-born Australian arachnologist and entomologist.
Hortophora is a genus of South Pacific orb-weaver spiders first described by V. W. Framenau, R. L. C. Baptista and F. S. M. Oliveira in 2021.
