Trichonephila fenestrata

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Phylum:Arthropoda
Subphylum:Chelicerata
Class:Arachnida
Order:Araneae
Black-legged Golden Orb-Web Spider
female T. fenestrata from Kenya
male from South Africa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Nephilidae
Genus: Trichonephila
Species:
T. fenestrata
Binomial name
Trichonephila fenestrata
(Thorell, 1859)[1]
Synonyms
  • Nephila fenestrata Thorell, 1859
  • Nephila pilipes fenestrata Strand, 1907
  • Nephila (Dasynephila) fenestrata Dahl, 1912

Trichonephila fenestrata is a southern African species of spider in the family Araneidae.[2] It is commonly known as the black-legged golden orb-web spider.[3]

Trichonephila fenestrata occurs in Eswatini, Lesotho, and South Africa.[2] In South Africa, it is found in all provinces and occurs in more than 20 protected areas.[3]

Three subspecies are known from different parts of Africa.

Habitat and ecology

The species inhabits altitudes ranging from 0 to 1,795 m above sea level and has been sampled from all biomes except the Desert and Succulent Karoo biomes.[3] Trichonephila fenestrata constructs large, complete golden yellow coloured orb webs between trees and shrubs.[3] The species has also been sampled in citrus and prickly pear orchards.[3]

Males of this species often autotomize their legs as a counter-adaptation to the sexual cannibalism of females.[4]

Description

Conservation

Taxonomy

References

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