Macracantha

Macracantha is a genus of Asian orb-weaver spiders currently recognized as containing a single species, Macracantha arcuata.[1] The taxon was first described by Eugène Simon in 1864 as a subgenus of Gasteracantha[2] and was raised to genus status in 1974 by Michel Emerit.[3] Macracantha is notable for the extremely long, curved spines on the abdomens of female members of the genus; Simon created the taxon name from the Greek words μακρός (large, long) and ἄκανθα (spine). It occurs from India and China through Southeast Asia to Borneo,[1] where an undescribed taxon has been photographed by several 21st-century observers.

Macracantha
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
Genus: Macracantha
Simon, 1864[1]

Species

The genus contains the following species:

On Borneo, where M. arcuata occurs, multiple observers have also photographed a colorful and dramatically shaped taxon that differs from typical M. arcuata in several respects:

  • longer, more strongly curved median spines;
  • different shape and arrangement of sigilla along the rear edge of the abdomen;
  • much longer posterior spines; and
  • consistently white dorsal surface of abdomen.[4][5][6][7]

The status of this taxon is unresolved.

Systematics

A 2019 study examining three mitochondrial and two nuclear genes found that M. arcuata is allied with Gasteracantha hasselti and Actinacantha globulata and that Gasteracantha is paraphyletic with respect to Macracantha, Actinacantha, and Thelacantha. The authors, however, did not propose generic reassignments based on their data.[8]

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References
  1. "Gen. Macracantha Simon, 1864". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
  2. Simon, E. (1864). Histoire naturelle des araignées (aranéides). Paris. p. 287. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51973.
  3. Emerit, M. (1974). "Arachnides araignées Araneidae Gasteracanthinae". Faune Madagascar. 38: 29.
  4. Bauer, Mikael. "Macracantha observed by neomorphus on March 25, 2015". iNaturalist. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  5. Lee, Chien C. "Macracantha observed by cclborneo on June 3, 2010". iNaturalist. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  6. Bay, Nicky. "Long horn orb weaver (Macracantha arcuata) - DSC_4787". Flickr. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  7. Yeo, Melvyn. "Long horned Orb Weaver Spider". DeviantArt. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  8. Tan, Ji; Chan, Zi Yang; Ong, Ching Ang; Yong, Hoi Sen (14 February 2019). "Phylogenetic relationships of Actinacantha Simon, Gasteracantha Sundevall, Macracantha Hasselt and Thelacantha Simon spiny orb-weavers (Araneae: Araneidae) in Peninsular Malaysia" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 67: 32–55. doi:10.26107/RBZ-2019-0003. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
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