Biology:Neoscona subfusca
| Common Neoscona Orb-Web Spider | |
|---|---|
| File:Neoscona subfusca 306018084 551816798.jpg | |
| Female | |
| File:Neoscona subfusca 313500634 566149002.jpg | |
| Male | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Neoscona |
| Species: | N. subfusca
|
| Binomial name | |
| Neoscona subfusca (C. L. Koch, 1837)[1]
| |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Neoscona subfusca is a species of spider in the family Araneidae.[2] It is commonly known as the common Neoscona orb-web spider.[3]
Etymology
The species name subfusca means "somewhat dark" in Latin.
Distribution
Neoscona subfusca is distributed widely in Africa, Southern Europe, and the near East. In South Africa, the species is very abundant and known from all nine provinces, occurring in more than 40 protected areas at altitudes ranging from 1 to 2,826 m above sea level.[3]
Habitat and ecology
This medium-sized species makes orb-webs in vegetation at night and removes the web early in the morning and rests on plants. The species has been sampled from all the floral biomes. It was also sampled from crops such as avocado, citrus, grapefruit, macadamia, pecan and pistachio orchards, pine plantations, cotton, tomatoes and vineyards. Neoscona subfusca is also associated with the bark of Vachellia xanthophloea trees in Ndumo Game Reserve and Ochna pulchra trees in Nylsvley Nature Reserve.[3]
Description
-
female
-
female
-
male
-
immature
Neoscona subfusca is known from both sexes. These are medium-sized spiders measuring 4.5-10.5 mm in body length.[3]
Conservation
Neoscona subfusca 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.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was described by C. L. Koch in 1837 as Atea subfusca from Greece. It was revised by Grasshoff in 1986.[4]
References
- ↑ Koch, C.L. (1837). "Übersicht des Arachnidensystems. Heft 1". C. H. Zeh'sche Buchhandlung, Nürnberg: 39. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.39561.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Neoscona subfusca (C. L. Koch, 1837)". World Spider Catalog. https://wsc.nmbe.ch/species/4935. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N.; Webb, P. (2022). The Araneidae of South Africa. Version 2: part 3 (Ne-Z). South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 15-17. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6326991. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6326991. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
- ↑ Grasshoff, M. (1986). "Die Radnetzspinnen-Gattung Neoscona in Afrika (Arachnida: Araneae)". Annalen Zoologische Wetenschappen 250: 1-123.
Wikidata ☰ Q2568015 entry
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