Interesting Facts
- Orb weavers (family Araneidae) make up a huge family with several hundred species in North America. They vary greatly in shape , size, and color. They have 8 eyes arranged in 2 horizontal rows of 4 eyes each. Their chelicerae (jaws ) usually have a small bump , or boss , on the outside margin . Male orb weavers are commonly much smaller than the females.
Common Names
Common Names in English:
Marbled Orb Weaver
Description
Family Araneidae
Orb weavers comprise a huge family of spiders, of which there are several hundred species in North America. These spiders vary greatly in color, shape and size, measuring between 2 - 30mm (1/16 -- 1 1/4") long. They have eight eyes arranged in two horizontal rows of four eyes each. The males are generally much smaller than the females and commonly lack the showy coloring of their fairer sex. They often spin their own smaller orb web near an outlying portion of the female's, and I've noticed most males give the females wide berth. Indeed, I rarely see male orb weavers, they are so reclusive. [1]
Habitat
Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,631 meters (0 to 8,632 feet).[2]
Biology
Behavior
Orb webs are spun in a spiral , on support lines that radiate outwards from the center. Many spiders in this family replace the entire web daily, recycling the silk by eating it. This highly complex protein is energy dense, and these spiders have evolved a thrifty recycling strategy. The male orb weavers frequently spin their own smaller orb webs near an outlying portion of the female's web.
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Protostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
()
- Aguinaldo Et Al., 1997 Ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
()
- Cuvier
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
()
- Latreille, 1829
- Arthropods
- Subphylum:
Arachnomorpha
()
- Heider, 1913
- Infraphylum:
Cheliceriformes
()
- Superclass:
Chelicerata
()
- Epiclass:
Euchelicerata
()
- Class:
Arachnida
()
- Cuvier, 1812
- Arachnids
- Subclass:
Micrura
()
- Order:
Araneae
()
- Clerck, 1757
- Spiders
- Suborder:
Opisthothelae
()
- Infraorder:
Araneomorphae
()
- Superfamily:
Araneoidea
()
- Superfamily:
Araneoidea
(
- Infraorder:
Araneomorphae
(
- Suborder:
Opisthothelae
(
- Order:
Araneae
(
- Subclass:
Micrura
(
- Class:
Arachnida
(
- Epiclass:
Euchelicerata
(
- Superclass:
Chelicerata
(
- Infraphylum:
Cheliceriformes
(
- Subphylum:
Arachnomorpha
(
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
(
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
(
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
(
- Branch:
Protostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Unambiguous Synonyms
- Aranea aurantia Olivier, 1789
- Aranea aurantio-maculata De Geer, 1778
- Aranea gigas Comstock, 1940
- Aranea marmorea Panzer, 1804
- Aranea melittagria Walckenaer, 1802
- Aranea pyramidata Olivier, 1789
- Aranea raji betulae Sulzer, 1776
- Aranea raji Scopoli, 1763
- Aranea regalis Panzer, 1797
- Aranea reticulata Roemer, 1789
- Aranea scalaris Panzer, 1793
- Aranea tusigia Chamberlin, 1919
- Araneus babel Clerck, 1757
- Araneus marmoreus pyramidatus Lessert, 1910
- Araneus pyramidatus Clerck, 1757
- Dysdera lutea Risso, 1826
- Epeira annulipes Rainbow, 1897
- Epeira bohemica C. L. Koch, 1838
- Epeira conspicellata Walckenaer, 1842
- Epeira flava Giebel, 1867
- Epeira graduata Walckenaer, 1842
- Epeira insularis Hentz, 1847
- Epeira jenisoni C. L. Koch, 1834
- Epeira marmorea Sundevall, 1833
- Epeira melittagria Walckenaer, 1805
- Epeira obesa Thorell, 1881
- Epeira pyramidata Sundevall, 1833
- Epeira raji Kaston, 1948
- Epeira scalaris Walckenaer, 1805
Notes
Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Platnick N.I., 15-Jul-2004.
Similar Species
Members of the genus Araneus
There are approximately 995 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:
A. aballensis · A. abeicus · A. abigeatus · A. abscissus · A. abundus · A. acacesiiformis · A. acachmenus · A. acolla · A. acrocephalus · A. acronotus · A. acropygus · A. aculeatus · A. acuminatus · A. acusisetus · A. acutus · A. adianta · A. adiantiformis · A. adiantoides · A. adiantus · A. adjuntaensis · A. aequiangulus · A. aequiangulus ochraceus · A. aethiopicus · A. aethiopissa · A. affinis · A. agastus · A. agriliformis · A. airensis · A. akakensis · A. akeholmi · A. aksuensis · A. albiaculeis · A. albidus · A. albilunatus · A. albisecta · A. albomaculatus · A. albopunctatus · A. alboquadratus · A. albotriangulus · A. alboventris · A. albovittatus · A. alhue · A. allani · A. alpicus · A. alsine · A. alticeps · A. altitudinum · A. amabilis · A. amblycyphus · A. amentatus · A. amurius · A. amygdalaceus · A. ana · A. anantnagensis · A. anaspastus · A. anatipes · A. ancurus · A. andrewsi · A. anguinifer · A. angulatus · A. angulatus(Clerck · A. angulatus afolius · A. angulatus atricolor · A. angulatus castaneus · A. angulatus crucinceptus · A. angulatus fuscus · A. angulatus iberoi · A. angulatus levifolius · A. angulatus niger · A. angulatus nitidifolius · A. angulatus pallidus · A. angulatus personatus · A. angulatus serifolius · A. anjonensis · A. annuliger · A. annulipedatus · A. annulipes · A. anuncinatus ochrorufus · A. anuncinatus ochrorufus · A. apache · A. apicalis · A. apiculatus · A. apobleptus · A. appendiculatus · A. apricus · A. aquaticus · A. aralis · A. arcuatus · A. arenaceus · A. arenatus · A. arfakianus · A. arganicola · A. argentarius · A. argyronotus · A. arizonensis · A. armida · A. artifex · A. asbenicus · A. asiaticus · A. atricus
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Abhandlungen der K. K. Zool.-Botan. Gesellschaft in Wien. Wien: Alfred Hölder, K.U.K. Hof-und Universitäts-Buchändler, 1901-1918. GER url p. 48.
- Acta Soc. pro Fauna et Flora Fennica. Helsinki, Societas. ENG url p. 19, p. 35, p. 6.
- Acta Societatis Regiae Scientiarum Upsaliensis. url p. 156.
- Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. Cambridge, Mass.: The Museum, ENG url p. 133, p. 137, p. 156, p. 157, p. 158, p. 160, p. 542.
- Fauna of New England. Boston, Printed for the [Boston] Society [of Natural History] from the Gurdon Saltonstall Fund, 1904-25. ENG url p. 52.
- Fauna of New England. List of the Araneida. Boston, For Society, 1908. ENG url p. 52.
- Hymenoptera of America north of Mexico: synoptic catalog, second supplement / prepared by the staff and collaborators of the Hymenoptera Unit, Insect Identification and Parasite Introduction Research Branch, Entomology Research Division, Agricultural Res Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1967. ENG url p. 380.
- Miscellaneous publication - University of Kansas, Museum of Natural History. Lawrence, University of Kansas, 1946-1996. ENG url p. 60.
- The faunal connections between Europe and North America. New York, Wiley[1957] ENG url p. 101.
Notes
Contributors
- Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed December 09, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 12 providers.
- SpidCat
- The World Spider Catalog, 5.0, 2004.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal December 09, 2007:
- Biologiezentrum der Oberoesterreichischen Landesmuseen, Biologiezentrum Linz
- Canadian Arachnologist Nearctic Spider Database, Canadian Arachnologist Nearctic Spider Database
- National Science Museum of Korea, National Science Museum of Korea Spider
- UK National Biodiversity Network, Natural England - Invertebrate Site Register - England.
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3547267
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Ara-015005
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13851018
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 227904
Footnotes
- http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Basilica&search=Search [back]
- Mean = 568.380 meters (1,864.764 feet), Standard Deviation = 674.050 based on 534 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
