Biology:Meta bourneti
| Meta bourneti | |
|---|---|
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| Female Mera bourneti on its egg sac | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Tetragnathidae |
| Genus: | Meta |
| Species: | M. bourneti
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| Binomial name | |
| Meta bourneti Simon, 1922[1]
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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Meta bourneti is an orb weaving cave spider closely related to Meta menardi.[2]
Morphology
Big sized spider (body length male: 10–13 mm; female: 13–16 mm), very similar in the external morphology to the congeneric Meta menardi. The prosoma is red-brown, with darker margin. Legs are red-brown. The opisthosoma is yellowish, laterally often completely black.[3]
Ecology
Usually found in caves, in the twilight-zone. The species show a preference for cave walls and roofs, where it spin its orb-web. M. bourneti is able to consume a wide variety of prey items, including dipterans, moths, centipedes, woodlouse, and other cave-dwelling spiders.[4]
Phenology
Female and juveniles are observed all year round. Males are rare, and usually found from August to December.
The eggsac (cocoon) is white, drop-shaped, and very similar to that of M. menardi (see [5]). It is usually laid in the proximity of the cave entrance between October and November. The spiderlings hatch from the cocoon between January and February.[4]
Distribution
It is found from Europe to Georgia and North Africa.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Taxon details Meta bourneti Simon, 1922", World Spider Catalog (Natural History Museum Bern), https://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/species/36532, retrieved 2021-01-08
- ↑ "Rare spider species found in Highgate Cemetery vaults". BBC News. 20 January 2013. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21107807. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
- ↑ "Meta bourneti – araneae". http://www.araneae.unibe.ch/data/113/Meta_bourneti.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mammola, Stefano; Isaia, Marco (2014-01-01). "Niche differentiation in Meta Bourneti and M. menardi (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) with notes on the life history". International Journal of Speleology 43 (3): 343–353. doi:10.5038/1827-806x.43.3.11. ISSN 0392-6672.
- ↑ Chiavazzo, Eliodoro; Isaia, Marco; Mammola, Stefano; Lepore, Emiliano; Ventola, Luigi; Asinari, Pietro; Pugno, Nicola Maria (2015-01-05). "Cave spiders choose optimal environmental factors with respect to the generated entropy when laying their cocoon" (in en). Scientific Reports 5: 7611. doi:10.1038/srep07611. ISSN 2045-2322. PMID 25556697.
Wikidata ☰ Q973871 entry
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