Biology:Neoscona triangula
| Red-spotted Neoscona Orb-Web Spider | |
|---|---|
| |
| N. triangula from South Africa | |
| |
LC (SANBI)
| |
Scientific 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)[1]
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Neoscona triangula is a species of spider in the family Araneidae.[2] It is commonly known as the red-spotted Neoscona orb-web spider.[3]
Distribution
Neoscona triangula has a very wide global distribution, known from Cape Verde to India and with a wide distribution throughout Africa.[3]
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.[3]
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.[3]
Description
-
female
Neoscona triangula is known from both sexes. These are large spiders measuring 9-17 mm in body length[3]
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.[3]
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.[4]
References
- ↑ Keyserling, E. (1864). "Beschreibungen neuer und wenig bekannter Arten aus der Familie Orbitelae Latr. oder Epeiridae Sund". Sitzungs-Berichte der naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft Isis in Dresden: 63-98, 119-154.
- ↑ "Neoscona triangula (Keyserling, 1864)". World Spider Catalog. https://wsc.nmbe.ch/species/4947. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
- ↑ 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.; Webb, P. (2022). The Araneidae of South Africa. Version 2: part 3 (Ne-Z). South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 19-20. 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 ☰ Q2639523 entry
 |  |
