Trichonephila edulis

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Trichonephila edulis
Female Nephila Edulis SeanMcClean 2007.jpg
Female Trichonephila edulis, Perth, Western Australia. [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Nephilidae
Genus: Trichonephila
Species:
T. edulis
Binomial name
Trichonephila edulis
Distribution.nephila.edulis.1.png
Synonyms

Aranea edulis(basionym)
Epeira edulis
Nephila edulis
Nephila imperatrix
Nephila eremiana

Contents

Trichonephila edulis is a species of large spider of the family Nephilidae, formerly placed in the genus Nephila . It is referred to by the common name Australian golden orb weaver. [4] It is found in Indonesia from Java eastwards, Papua New Guinea, Australia, northern New Zealand, and New Caledonia. [2]

It has a large body size variability, females can reach a body length of up to 40 millimetres, males about 7 mm. The cephalothorax is black with a white pattern on the back, and a yellow underside; the abdomen is grey to brown.

The web is about 1 metre in diameter and protected on one or both sides by a strong "barrier" web. T. edulis breeds from February to May, and produces an average of 380 eggs.

T. edulis is closely related to Trichonephila plumipes (tiger spider) which is also commonly found in Australia. [5]

Name

The species was first collected and named by Jacques Labillardiere, in Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse (1799), [6] becoming the second Australian spider to be described by a European naturalist. [7] (The first was Gasteracantha fornicata .)

The species name edulis means "edible" in Latin. Labillardiere wrote: ”Les habitans de la Nouvelle-Calédonie appellent nougui cette espèce d'araignée, que je désigne sous le nom d' aranea edulis (araignée que les Calédoniens mangent).“ („The inhabitants of New Caledonia call this spider nougui. I have described it under the name Aranea edulis, meaning spiders that the New Caledonians eat.“)

As food

Trichonephilia edulis is an edible spider. Several related spiders are considered a delicacy in New Guinea, "plucked by the legs from their webs and lightly roasted over an open fire". [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spider silk</span> Protein fiber made by spiders

Spider silk is a protein fibre or silk spun by spiders. Spiders use silk to make webs or other structures that function as adhesive traps to catch prey, to entangle and restrain prey before biting, to transmit tactile information, or as nests or cocoons to protect their offspring. They can use the silk to suspend themselves from height, to float through the air, or to glide away from predators. Most spiders vary the thickness and adhesiveness of their silk according to its use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orb-weaver spider</span> Family of spiders

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.

<i>Nephila</i> Genus of spiders

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, although some species formerly included in the genus have been moved to Trichonephila. They are commonly called golden silk orb-weavers, golden orb-weavers, giant wood spiders, or banana spiders.

Banana spider may refer to:

<i>Trichonephila inaurata</i> Species of spider

Trichonephila inaurata, synonym Nephila inaurata, commonly known as the red-legged golden orb-weaver spider or red-legged nephila, is a species of spider of the genus Trichonephila. It is native to southern and East Africa, as well as several islands of the western Indian Ocean.

<i>Trichonephila clavata</i> Species of spider

Trichonephila clavata, also known as the Joro-spider, is a spider in the Trichonephila genus. Native to East Asia, it is found throughout China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, and has been spreading across North America since the 2010s. It is venomous, but it rarely bites humans and its venom is not deadly.

<i>Trichonephila clavipes</i> Species of spider native to the Americas

Trichonephila clavipes, commonly known as the golden silk orb-weaver, golden silk spider, golden orb weaver spider or colloquially banana spider, is an orb-weaving spider species which inhabits forests and wooded areas ranging from the southern US to Argentina. It is indigenous to both continental North and South America. Known for the golden color of their silk, the large size of their females, and their distinctive red-brown and yellow coloring, T. clavipes construct large, asymmetrical circular webs attached to trees and low shrubs in woods to catch small- and medium-size flying prey, mostly insects. They are excellent web-builders, producing and utilizing seven different types of silk, and they subdue their prey by injecting them with venom, as opposed to related species which immobilize their prey by wrapping them in silk first. They are not known to be aggressive towards humans, only biting out of self-defense if touched, and their relatively harmless venom has a low toxicity, posing little health concern to healthy human adults. Due to their prevalence in forests, T. clavipes may be encountered by hikers.

<i>Argiope keyserlingi</i> St Andrews cross spider

Argiope keyserlingi is a species of orb-web spider found on the east coast of Australia, from Victoria to northern Queensland. It is very similar in appearance to a closely related north Queensland species, Argiope aetherea. A. keyserlingi is commonly found in large populations in suburban parks and gardens, particularly among the leaves of Lomandra longifolia. Like many species of orb-web spider, A. keyserlingi shows considerable sexual dimorphism, as the females are many times larger than the males. Mature females can be seen during the summer, and seeing multiple males on the web of one female is not uncommon.

<i>Nephila pilipes</i> Species of spider

Nephila pilipes is a species of golden orb-web spider. It resides all over countries in East and Southeast Asia as well as Oceania. It is commonly found in primary and secondary forests and gardens. Females are large and grow to a body size of 30–50 mm, with males growing to 5–6 mm. It is the second largest of the orb-weaving spiders apart from the recently discovered Nephila komaci. The first, second, and fourth pairs of legs of juvenile females have dense hairy brushes, but these brushes disappear as the spider matures.

<i>Nephilengys</i> Genus of spiders

Nephilengys is a genus of tropical spiders of the family Nephilidae, consisting of two currently described species. The genus Nephilingis has been split off from this genus. Both genera have been called hermit spiders from the habit staying in their retreats during the day; the name eunuch spiders has been used for Nephilengys alone. Males may sever parts of their palpal bulbs after copulation.

<i>Trichonephila plumipes</i> Species of spider

Trichonephila plumipes, the Pacific golden orb weaver, is a species of spider found in Australia, Indonesia and some Pacific Islands, which exhibits extreme sexual dimorphism through its sexual cannibalism behavior. It is sometimes called the tiger spider due to its markings which look similar to a tiger. This species was formerly called Nephila plumipes. As with other spiders from the genus Nephila, these spiders have a distinct golden web.

Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse is an 1800 book that gives an account of the 1791-1793 d'Entrecasteaux expedition to Australasia. The title refers to the search for La Pérouse, who disappeared in the region in 1788, a popular, though unsuccessful, object of the mission. Many of the discoveries made by the scientists attached to the expedition were published in the two volumes. The author, Jacques Labillardière, was a French botanist on the voyage, engaged to collect and describe the flora of the continent. The work includes some of the earliest descriptions of Australian flora and fauna, and an account of the indigenous peoples of Tasmania.

<i>Nephila komaci</i> Species of spider

Nephila komaci is a species of golden orb-web spider. It is the largest web-spinning spider known. A few specimens have been found in South Africa and Madagascar.

Edulis, edible in Latin, is a species name present in a number of Latin species names:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darwin's bark spider</span> Species of spider

Darwin's bark spider is an orb-weaver spider that produces the largest known orb webs, ranging from 900 to 28,000 square centimetres, with bridge lines spanning up to 25 metres (82 ft). The spider was discovered in Madagascar in the Andasibe-Mantadia National Park in 2009. Its silk is the toughest biological material ever studied. Its tensile strength is 1.6 GPa. The species was named in honour of the naturalist Charles Darwin on November 24, 2009—precisely 150 years after the publication of The Origin of Species.

<i>Mongolarachne</i> Extinct genus of spiders

Mongolarachne is an extinct genus of spiders placed in the monogeneric family Mongolarachnidae. The genus contains only one species, Mongolarachne jurassica, described in 2013, which is presently the largest fossilized spider on record. The type species was originally described as Nephila jurassica and placed in the living genus Nephila which contains the golden silk orb-weavers.

<i>Nephila sumptuosa</i> Species of spider

Nephila sumptuosa, the red-legged golden orb-web spider, is a species of golden orb-web spider.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nephilidae</span> Spider family

Nephilidae is a spider family commonly referred to as golden orb-weavers. The various genera in the Nephilidae family were formerly placed in Tetragnathidae and Araneidae. All nephilid genera partially renew their webs.

<i>Trichonephila</i> Genus of spiders

Trichonephila is a genus of golden 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. The genus Trichonephila belongs to the Nephilidae family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arachnids as food</span>

Some arachnids may be used for human consumption, either whole or as an ingredient in processed food products such as cheese (Milbenkäse). Arachnids include spiders, scorpions, and mites.

References

  1. Golden orb weavers Ed Nieuwenhuys, Ronald Loggen 1997, 2002, Jurgen Otto 2005. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  2. 1 2 Kuntner, M.; Rudolf, E.; Cardoso, P. (2017). "Nephila edulis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T89292344A89292878. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T89292344A89292878.en . Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  3. "Taxon details Trichonephila edulis (Labillardiere, 1799)". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  4. arachne.org.au http://www.arachne.org.au
  5. Kuntner, Matjaz; Hamilton, Chris A & Cheng, Ren-Chung (2018), "Golden orbweavers ignore biological rules: phylogenomic and comparative analyses unravel a complex evolution of sexual size dimorphism", Systematic Biology, 68 (4): 555–572, doi: 10.1093/sysbio/syy082 , PMC   6568015 , PMID   30517732
  6. Labillardière, J. 1799. Relation du voyage à la recherche de La Pérouse, fait par ordre de l'Assemblée constituante. Paris Vol. 2 pp. 240-241
  7. Davies, Valerie Todd; et al. (30 Mar 2006). "Order Araneae: Spiders". Australian Faunal Directory. Government of Australia. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
  8. Meyer-Rochow, V. B. (1973). "Edible insects in three different ethnic groups of Papua and New Guinea". The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 26 (6): 673–677. doi:10.1093/ajcn/26.6.673. PMID   4707971.

Further reading