Nephila senegalensis (Banded-legged nephila)

Nephila senegalensis (Banded-legged nephila)

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Ecdysozoa > Panarthropoda > Tritocerebra > Arthropoda > Arachnomorpha > Cheliceriformes > Chelicerata > Euchelicerata > Arachnida > Araneae > Araneomorpha > Family: Nephilidae > Genus: Nephila


Nephila senegalensis (Banded-legged nephila) [photo Charles Haddad ©]

Description

Typically of Nephila, the legs have a brush on the tibia of the first, second and fourth pairs of legs. The blackish legs are banded with yellow. The Banded-legged Nephila has a body length of 25-30mm. The abdomen is black with yellow bands or spots while ventrally it has a yellow sternum.

Distribution and habitat

Within southern Africa, Nephila senegalensis occurs in Kwazulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and northern regions of southern Africa.

Derivation of names

The specific name is in reference to the type locality.

Prey capture

See under Nephila.

Mating and reproduction

See under Nephila.

Ecological interactions

See under Nephila.

Publications

Clausen, I. H. S. 1987. On the biology and behavior of Nephila senegalensis senegalensis (Walckenaer, 1937). Bulletin of the British Arachnology Society 7: 147–150.
Schneider JM, Lucass C, Brandler W, Fromhage L. 2011. Ethology 117: 970-978. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2011.01960.x
Schneider JM, Michalik P. 2011. One-shot genitalia are not an evolutionary dead end - Regained male polygamy in a sperm limited spider species. BMC Evolutionary Biology 11: 197. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-11-197