Neoscona triangula

Red-spotted Neoscona Orb-Web Spider
File:Neoscona triangula, rugkant, Waterkloof, a.jpg
N. triangula from South Africa
File:Neoscona triangula, ondersy, Waterkloof, a.jpg
Conservation status
File:Status SANBI LC.svg Least Concern (SANBI Red List)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Araneidae
Genus:	Neoscona
Species:	N. triangula
Binomial name
Neoscona triangula (Keyserling, 1864)
Synonyms
Aranea cruciferoides Vinson, 1863 Epeira kerstenii Gerstaecker, 1873 Epeira melanopa Gerstaecker, 1873 Epeira obscura Blackwall, 1877 Butler, 1880 Simon, 1884 Lenz, 1891 Pocock, 1898 Strand, 1906 Tullgren, 1910 Tullgren, 1910 Caporiacco, 1939 Araneus nigrostriatus Aranea sub-bituberculata Araneus fernandensis Aranea formicae Araneus katangae Caporiacco, 1947 Epeira locuples Epeira cerviniventris Epeira annulata Araneus haploscapus Thorell, 1899 Simon, 1907 Tullgren, 1910 Giltay, 1935 Roberts, 1983 Neoscona larbada Epeira nocturna Aranea danensis Aranea kibonotensis Neoscona platyparomma

Neoscona triangula is a species of spider in the family Araneidae. It is commonly known as the red-spotted Neoscona orb-web spider.

Distribution

Neoscona triangula has a very wide global distribution, known from Cape Verde to India and with a wide distribution throughout Africa.

In South Africa, the species is recorded from all nine provinces at altitudes ranging from 7 to 1,781 m above sea level and occurs in more than 20 protected areas.

Habitat and ecology

This large species makes orb-webs in vegetation at night and removes them early in the morning, resting on plants during the day. The species is very common in gardens during the summer season. The species has been sampled from the Forest, Grassland, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, Nama Karoo, Savanna, and Thicket biomes. The species was also sampled from crops such as avocado, macadamia and pecans orchards, onion, sorghum and tomato fields. The species was also sampled from Burkea africana in Nylsvley Nature Reserve.

Description

See also: Glossary of spider terms

• female
  female

Neoscona triangula is known from both sexes. These are large spiders measuring 9-17 mm in body length

Conservation

Neoscona triangula is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographical range. There are no significant threats to the species. The species has been sampled from more than 20 protected areas including Karoo National Park, Roodeplaatdam Nature Reserve, Ndumo Game Reserve, Mpetsane Conservation Estate, and Addo Elephant National Park.

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Keyserling in 1864 as Epeira triangula. It was revised by Grasshoff in 1986, who synonymized numerous species including Araneus fernandensis, A. formicae, A. haploscapus, A. katangae, A. locuples, A. melanopus, A. platyparomma, A. subbituberculatus, Neoscona danensis, N. kersteni, and N. larbada.