Phonognatha melanopyga

Artifex melanopyga, synonym Phonognatha melanopyga,[1] referred to as a leaf curling spider, is a common Australian spider found in moist coastal areas of New South Wales and Queensland.[2] A small member of the family Araneidae, the orb-weavers, it was previously placed in Tetragnathidae.[3][4]

Phonognatha melanopyga
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
Genus: Artifex
Species:
A. melanopyga
Binomial name
Artifex melanopyga
L.Koch, 1871 (Australia)

Description

The spider is distinguished by having a curled leaf at the centre of its web, in which it shelters. The abdomen is a plump oval or egg shape, light in colour with a dark mark at the rear from which the species name "melanopyga" is derived.[5] Additional dark marks form a pattern dorsally on the abdomen. The legs are light brown with the joints darker. Females are 9mm in length and males 7mm.

References

  1. Kallal, R. J. & Hormiga, G.. (2018b). Systematics, phylogeny and biogeography of the Australasian leaf-curling orb-weaving spiders (Araneae: Araneidae: Zygiellinae), with a comparative analysis of retreat evolution. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 184(4): 1055-1141.
  2. "Phonognatha melanopyga". Atlas of Living Australia. CSIRO. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  3. Platnick, N. I. 2008. Araneidae The World Spider Catalog, version 9.0. American Museum of Natural History.
  4. Kuntner, M., J. A. Coddington & G. Hormiga. 2008. Phylogeny of extant nephilid orb-weaving spiders (Araneae, Nephilidae): testing morphological and ethological homologies. Cladistics 24: 190.
  5. Whyte, Robert; Anderson, Greg (2017). A Field Guide to Spiders of Australia. Clayton South Vic. 3169: CSIRO publishing. p. 112. ISBN 9780643107076.CS1 maint: location (link)
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