| Nephila sumptuosa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nephila sumptuosa. Museum specimen | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Nephila |
| Species: | N. sumptuosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Nephila sumptuosa Gerstäcker, 1873 [1] | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Nephila sumptuosa, the red-legged golden orb-web spider, is a species of golden orb-web spider. [2] [3]
Nephila sumptuosa can reach a length of 4.4 millimetres (0.17 in) in males, of 34.9 millimetres (1.37 in) in females. [4] These large spiders have long reddish legs with clumps of hair. The abdomen is blackish and shows a series of whitish spots.
As is usual among orb-weavers, there is marked sexual dimorphism in general appearance, but especially in size.
Uloboridae is a family of non-venomous spiders, known as cribellate orb weavers or hackled orb weavers. Their lack of venom glands is a secondarily evolved trait. Instead, they wrap their prey thoroughly in silk, cover it in regurgitated digestive enzymes, and then ingest the liquified body.
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 forest. "Orb" can in English mean "circular", hence the English name of the group. Araneids have eight similar eyes, hairy or spiny legs, and no stridulating organs.
Florinda, commonly called black-tailed red sheetweaver or red grass spider, is a monotypic genus of dwarf spiders containing the single species, Florinda coccinea. It was first described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1896, and has only been found in Mexico, the West Indies, and the United States. It is common in the southeastern United States, inhabiting grasslands, lawns, and agricultural fields.
Nephila is a genus of araneomorph spiders noted for the impressive webs they weave. Nephila consists of numerous species found in warmer regions around the world. They are commonly called golden silk orb-weavers, golden orb-weavers, giant wood spiders, or banana spiders.
Trichonephila inaurata,, commonly known as the red-legged golden orb-weaver spider or red-legged nephila, is a species of orb-weaver spider of the genus Trichonephila. It is native to southern and East Africa, as well as several islands of the western Indian Ocean.
Kaira, sometimes called frilled orbweavers, is a mostly neotropical genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by O. Pickard-Cambridge in 1889. It includes sixteen described species that occur from South America up to the southern and eastern USA. It is presumably related to Aculepeira, Amazonepeira and Metepeira.
Coneweb spiders (Diguetidae) are six-eyed haplogyne spiders that live in tangled space webs, fashioning a cone-like central retreat where they hide and lay eggs. It is a small family, containing only two genera with fifteen species and is confined to the New World, preferring deserts. Members of the genus Diguetia usually build their webs in shrubs or between cactus pads. They have the same eye arrangement as the venomous recluse spiders, but none are known to be harmful to humans.
The spider species Nephila senegalensis is commonly known as the banded-legged golden orb-web spider. The name comes from the fact that the joints of the spider are typically coloured a golden yellow. It is common throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal and Yemen to South Africa. Males are much smaller than females. These spiders are diurnal and weave impressive webs.
Melpomene is a genus of funnel weavers first described by O. Pickard-Cambridge in 1898. They range from southwestern U.S. to Panama and can grow up to 7 to 8.5 millimetres long. Roth and Brame noted that, with many undescribed species, the genus appears to be a catchall or "wastebasket taxon" for several unrelated species that may represent several genera.
Parawixia is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by F. O. Pickard-Cambridge in 1904. Most species are found in the Neotropics but one species, Parawixia dehaani, is found in Australasia and tropical Asia as far west as India.
Opas is a genus of long-jawed orb-weavers that was first described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1896. Though few males have ever been studied, they are much smaller than females. Their pedipalps have a paracymbium, and a conductor that projects from the tegulum, enclosing the embolus. They sit at the center of orb-shaped webs, many attached to low plants. Their webs are relatively flat, though rotated 45 degrees from horizontal. It has previously been synonymized with Leucauge.
Pickardinella is a monotypic genus of Mexican long-jawed orb-weavers containing the single species, Pickardinella setigera. The species was first described by Frederick Octavius Pickard-Cambridge under the name Leucauge setigera, and was moved to its own genus in 1951. Physically, they resemble members of Opadometa and Leucauge. Males are very small, only growing up to about 2 millimetres (0.079 in) long. A female has never been found.
Allocyclosa is a genus of orb weaver spiders that contains only one species, Allocyclosa bifurca. It was first described in 1887 by McCook under the name Cyrtophora bifurca, and was transferred to its own genus in 1999. It is the only Cyclosa species north of Mexico to have a forked tail, hence the name bifurca, Latin for "two-forked". The forked abdomen, bearing two humps shaped like the letter M, is a defining feature in both males and females, though it is similar to features present in certain Cyrtophora species. Both sexes are a transparent green color, though only females have an area of red on their underside between the epigynum and the spinnerets. Females are nearly thirty percent larger than males, ranging from five to nine millimeters, while males range from two to three millimeters. Males are very uncommon. In a 1977 study by Levi, only two of the nearly 350 specimens that were positively identified as Cyrtophora bifurca were males. This is a very odd distribution, and it has been posed that females of the species, which have less prominent genitalia relative to other members of the orb-weaver family, may be parthenogenic, or able to reproduce without the help of males. Like other members of Araneidae, these spiders create orb webs, six to eight inches in diameter, but apply a unique form of protective mimicry. Females sit in the middle of a vertical row of web decoration, with egg sacs above and wrapped prey below. Because they all have a similar color and shape, it is difficult to discern between the egg sacs, the wrapped prey, and the spider itself.
Edricus is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by O. Pickard-Cambridge in 1890. As of April 2019 it contains only two species.
Epeirotypus is a genus of ray spiders that was first described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1894. As of June 2020 it contains three species, found in China, Costa Rica, and Mexico: E. brevipes, E. chavarria, and E. dalong.
Metabus is a genus of long-jawed orb-weavers that was first described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1899.
Witica is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1895. As of April 2019 it contains only three species.
Ariston is a genus of cribellate orb-weavers first described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1896.
Trichonephila is a genus of orb-weaver spiders that was first described by Friedrich Dahl in 1911, as a subgenus of Nephila. Trichonephila was elevated to the level of genus by Kuntner et al in 2019.