Trichonephila plumipes

Trichonephila plumipes is a species of spider found in Australia, Indonesia and some Pacific Islands, which exhibits extreme sexual dimorphism. It is sometimes called the tiger spider due to its markings which look similar to a tiger. This species has historically been confused with Nephila clavipes, with the main distinguishing visual difference being significantly smaller black hair tufts on the legs. As with other spiders from the genus Nephila, they have a distinctive golden web.

Trichonephila plumipes
Female eating a ladybird, with male in attendance
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
Genus: Trichonephila
Species:
T. plumipes
Binomial name
Trichonephila plumipes
(Latreille, 1804)[1]
Synonyms
  • Nephila plumipes

Studies have shown that orb-weaving spiders grow bigger and can produce more eggs in highly urbanised places due to more food being available, warmer temperatures, fewer predators such as birds, and no pesticide chemicals. These spiders are commonly found in both urban and natural landscapes.[2]

References
  1. "Taxon details Trichonephila plumipes (Latreille, 1804)". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  2. Australian Geographic (August 2014). "Spiders in the city are bigger".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.