Neoscona subfusca

Neoscona subfusca is a species of spider in the family Araneidae.^[2] It is commonly known as the common Neoscona orb-web spider.^[3]

Common Neoscona Orb-Web Spider
immature N. subfusca
Conservation status
Least Concern (SANBI Red List)
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
Epeira dalmatica Doleschall, 1852 Epeira blanda Blackwall, 1865 Epeira impedita L. Koch, 1867 Epeira illibata Simon, 1870 Epeira perplicata O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872 Epeira limans Thorell, 1875 Epeira radulans Pavesi, 1883 Aranea nigrita Thorell, 1899 Aranea submodesta Strand, 1906 Araneus mesonauta Simon, 1907 Araneus occidaneus Simon, 1907 Araneus arganicola Simon, 1909 Aranea restiaria Tullgren, 1910 Aranea artifex Tullgren, 1910 Araneus hoffmanni Schenkel, 1937 Neoscona albobitriangulosa Caporiacco, 1939 Neoscona immodesta Caporiacco, 1941 Araneus airensis Denis, 1955 Neoscona parva Schmidt, 1973

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

See also: Glossary of spider terms

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 including Karoo National Park, Mkambati Nature Reserve, Makalali Nature Reserve, Ndumo Game Reserve, Polokwane Nature Reserve, and Swartberg Nature Reserve.^[3]

Taxonomy

The species was described by C. L. Koch in 1837 as Atea subfusca from Greece. It was revised by Grasshoff in 1986, who synonymized numerous species including Araneus aballensis, A. blandus, A. granatae, A. hoffmanni, A. mesonauta, A. nigritus, A. occidaneus, A. restiarius, A. submodestus, Neoscona parva, and many others.^[4]