Neoscona chiarinii
| Chiarini's Neoscona Orb-Web Spider | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Neoscona |
| Species: | N. chiarinii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Neoscona chiarinii (Pavesi, 1883)[1]
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Neoscona chiarinii is a species of spider in the family Araneidae.[2] It is commonly known as Chiarini's Neoscona orb-web spider and is an endemic species to Africa.[3]
Distribution
Neoscona chiarinii is known from eight African countries: Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Uganda. The species also occurs in South Africa.[3]
In South Africa, the species has been recorded from two provinces: KwaZulu-Natal (Tembe Elephant Park) and Mpumalanga (Dullstroom).[3]
Habitat and ecology
Neoscona chiarinii are orb-web spiders that make orb-webs at night in vegetation and remove them early in the morning. The species has been sampled from the Grassland and Savanna biomes.[3]
Description
Neoscona chiarinii is known from both sexes.[3]
Conservation
Neoscona chiarinii is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographical range in Africa. The species is protected in Tembe Elephant Park. There are no known threats to the species.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by Pavesi in 1883 from Ethiopia as Epeira chiarinii. It was revised by Grasshoff in 1986, who synonymized several species including Araneus accentuatus, A. lapillulus, A. mutilatus, and A. potteri.[4]
References
- ^ Pavesi, P. (1883). "Spedizione italiana nell'Africa equatoriale. Risultati zoologici. Aracnidi del regno di Scioa". Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova. 20: 5–105.
- ^ "Neoscona chiarinii (Pavesi, 1883)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f 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. p. 3. doi: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.