Notes on the identity of the orb-weaver spider Araneus nox Simon, 1877 (Araneae: Araneidae) from India, including its transfer to Eriovixia Archer, 1951 and one new synonymy

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  Notes on the identity of the orb-weaver spider Araneus nox Simon, 1877 (Araneae: Araneidae) from India, including its transfer to Eriovixia Archer, 1951 and one new synonymy The orb-weaver genus Araneus Clerck, 1757 has historically served as a heterogeneous assemblage for numerous araneid spiders lacking clear generic placement, and several Asian species formerly assigned to Araneus have subsequently been transferred to more narrowly defined genera. One species that still needs further investigation on its true identity is Araneus nox (Simon, 1877), originally described as Epeira nox Simon, 1877 from Basilan Island, Philippines, and later transferred to Araneus by Simon (1905). In the same year as the description of Epeira nox, Thorell (1877) described Epeira pilula from the Moluccas (Indonesia), which was subsequently synonymised under Epeira nox by Simon (1880). Despite its broad Oriental distribution, the taxonomic identity and generic placement of A. nox have remained insuff...

Cyclosa Menge, 1866 (Araneidae) Orb-Weavers Build Stabilimenta That Resemble Larger Spiders

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Cyclosa Menge, 1866 (Araneidae) Orb-Weavers Build Stabilimenta That Resemble Larger Spiders

ABSTRACT

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Orb-weaving spiders are known to create stabilimenta—silk situated at particular locations of the web. While anecdotal reports and popular media have long suggested that some spiders arrange debris in their webs to resemble a larger spider, this behavior has not been formally documented in the scientific literature. Here, we provide the first scientific record of this unique behavior in two orb-weaving spiders (Cyclosa spp., Araneidae) from the tropical forests of Peru and the Philippines. We report that these spiders construct stabilimenta composed of detritus and silk, arranging the debris in the web into a shape that visually resembles the silhouette of a larger spider. This structure may serve as a “decoy” that serves an anti-predator function of misdirecting or repelling the attacks of some predators. Video abstract: https://youtu.be/GDySHFRXbCE.


Olah, G., Torres, P. J., Pomerantz, A. F., Kirby, R., Baxter, S., Grados, J., & Reeves, L. E. (2025). Cyclosa Menge, 1866 (Araneidae) Orb-Weavers Build Stabilimenta That Resemble Larger Spiders. Ecology and Evolution, 15(11), e72371. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.72371