Biology:Meta meruensis
| Meruensis Orb-Web Spider | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Tetragnathidae |
| Genus: | Meta |
| Species: | M. meruensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Meta meruensis Tullgren, 1910[1]
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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Meta meruensis is a species of spider in the family Tetragnathidae.[2] It is commonly known as the meruensis orb-web spider.[3]
Distribution
Meta meruensis is found in Tanzania and South Africa.[2] In South Africa, the species is recorded from three provinces: KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga.[3]
Habitat and ecology
The species has been collected from low vegetation near water in Forest and Savanna biomes at altitudes ranging from 687 to 2,785 m.[3]
Description
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Conservation
Meta meruensis is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographical range.[3] The species is protected in Blouberg Nature Reserve, Lekgalameetse Nature Reserve, and Lhuvhondo Nature Reserve.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by Albert Tullgren in 1910 from Tanzania.[1] According to Marusik and Larsen in 2018, the species is misplaced in Meta and based on the shape of the epigyne, it may belong to Leucauge.[4] However, it differs from Leucauge in several aspects, including the absence of the double fringe of trichobothria on leg IV.[4]
It is known only from females.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tullgren, A. (1910). "Araneae". Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Zoologischen Expedition nach dem Kilimandjaro, dem Meru und den umgebenden Massaisteppen Deutsch-Ostafrikas 1905-1906 unter Leitung von Prof. Dr. Yngve Sjöstedt. Sjöstedts Kilimandjaro-Meru Expedition. 20. pp. 85-172. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.6622.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Meta meruensis Tullgren, 1910". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. https://wsc.nmbe.ch/species/36521.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N. (2023). The Tetragnathidae of South Africa. South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. p. 27. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7513261.
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Marusik, Y.M.; Larsen, N. (2018). "A new species and new records of Metellina (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) from Africa". Zootaxa 4418 (5): 497-504. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4418.5.8.
External links
- {{Inaturalist taxon}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata.
Wikidata ☰ Q2464534 entry
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