Neoscona triangula

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]

Red-spotted Neoscona Orb-Web Spider
N. triangula from South Africa
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. triangula
Binomial name
Neoscona triangula (Keyserling, 1864)[1]
Synonyms
Epeira nocturna Vinson, 1863 Epeira kerstenii Gerstaecker, 1873 Epeira melanopa Gerstaecker, 1873 Epeira obscura Blackwall, 1877 Epeira locuples Butler, 1880 Epeira cerviniventris Simon, 1884 Epeira annulata Lenz, 1891 Araneus haploscapus Pocock, 1898 Aranea sub-bituberculata Thorell, 1899 Aranea danensis Strand, 1906 Araneus fernandensis Simon, 1907 Aranea kibonotensis Tullgren, 1910 Aranea formicae Tullgren, 1910 Aranea cruciferoides Tullgren, 1910 Araneus katangae Giltay, 1935 Neoscona platyparomma Caporiacco, 1939 Araneus nigrostriatus Caporiacco, 1947 Neoscona larbada Roberts, 1983

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

See also: Glossary of spider terms

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]