Leucauge

Leucauge
	Leucauge venusta (orchard spider)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Tetragnathidae
Genus:	Leucauge; White, 1841
Diversity
	167 species

Leucauge (loo-kah-gee) is a spider genus of long-jawed orb weavers, with over 160 species and fully pantropical distribution.

The genus was first documented in Scottish zoologist Adam White's 1841 Description of new or little known Arachnida. Charles Darwin had suggested the name of the genus and collected the first specimen in May 1832, later named L. argyrobapta.

A vague description and the loss of the only specimen left the genus ill-defined. Leucauge developed into something of a wastebasket taxon containing 300 loosely related species, until research in the year 2010 resolved L. argyrobapta as a synonym of the quite common L. venusta and allowed revision and reclassing of the genus.^[1] However, a 2018 paper restored Leucauge argyrobapta as a separate species.^[2]

The body and leg shapes and the silver, black and yellow markings of Leucauge females make identification of the genus relatively easy. They have two rows of long, slender curved hairs on the femurs of the fourth leg. In most cases the web is slanted rather than vertical and the spider rests in the middle of the web with its underside facing upwards.

Selected species[]

The World Spider Catalog accepted 167 species in the genus as of August 2020.^[3] This number includes:

Leucauge argyra
Leucauge argyrobapta
Leucauge celebesiana
Leucauge decorata
(worthy orb-weaver) – Saint Helena^[4]
Leucauge dromedaria (silver orb-weaver, horizontal orb-weaver)
Leucauge mariana
Leucauge subblanda
Leucauge venusta (orchard spider, orchard orb-weaver)

Name[]

Greek leukos means "white".

Gallery[]

L. sp., Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand
L. sp., Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand
L. tessellata or related species
Mabel orchard spider, L. mabelae, Jamaica
Dorsal view of a mature female Leucauge mariana

References[]

^ Friedman, Danny. "A Tangled Web" (PDF). George Washington University. GW Research. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
^ Ballesteros, Jesús A.; Hormiga, Gustavo (2018). "Species delimitation of the North American orchard-spider Leucauge venusta (Walckenaer, 1841) (Araneae, Tetragnathidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 121: 183–197. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.01.002. PMID 29337274.
^ "Leucauge". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
^ Ashmole, P. & Ashmole, M. 2000. St Helena and Ascension Island: a natural history. Anthony Nelson, Oswestry. 492p.ISBN 0 904614 61 1.

External links[]

Picture of L. dromedaria
Pictures of L. mabelae
Leucauge decorata description and picture
Picture of Leucauge sp., about to be eaten by Anolis carolinensis

[1] Friedman, Danny. "A Tangled Web" (PDF). George Washington University. GW Research. Retrieved 9 August 2017.

[2] Ballesteros, Jesús A.; Hormiga, Gustavo (2018). "Species delimitation of the North American orchard-spider Leucauge venusta (Walckenaer, 1841) (Araneae, Tetragnathidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 121: 183–197. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.01.002. PMID 29337274.

[3] "Leucauge". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 24 August 2020.

[4] Ashmole, P. & Ashmole, M. 2000. St Helena and Ascension Island: a natural history. Anthony Nelson, Oswestry. 492p.ISBN 0 904614 61 1.

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