Species of spider
| Argiope aetherea
|
![]()
|
Scientific classification 
|
| Domain:
|
Eukaryota
|
| Kingdom:
|
Animalia
|
| Phylum:
|
Arthropoda
|
| Subphylum:
|
Chelicerata
|
| Class:
|
Arachnida
|
| Order:
|
Araneae
|
| Infraorder:
|
Araneomorphae
|
| Family:
|
Araneidae
|
| Genus:
|
Argiope
|
| Species:
|
A. aetherea
|
| Binomial name
|
Argiope aetherea
|
| Synonyms[1]
|
- Epeira aetherea Walckenaer, 1841
- Argiope regalis L. Koch, 1871
- Argiope variabilis Bradley, 1876
- Argiope lunata Bradley, 1876
- Argiope brownii O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1877
- Argiope verecunda Thorell, 1878
- Argiope aetherea (Walckenaer, 1841)
- Argiope friedericii Strand, 1911
- Argiope wolfi Strand, 1911
- Argiope maerens Kulczyński, 1911
- Argiope udjirica Strand, 1911
- Argiope wogeonicola Strand, 1913
- Gea rotunda Hogg, 1915
- Argiope novae-pommeraniae Strand, 1915
|
Argiope aetherea is a common, large orb-web spider (family Araneidae). Like other species of Argiope, it is commonly known as the St Andrew's Cross spider, due to the characteristic cross-shaped web decorations female spiders often include in their webs. A. aetherea is similar in appearance to A. keyserlingi, however female A. aetherea are generally larger than A. keyserlingi.[2] Like most orb-web spiders, A. aetherea shows considerable sexual size dimorphism, with females being many times larger than males.
Distribution
Argiope aetherea is found from China to Australia.[1]
Subspecies
There exists a subspecies from New Guinea:
- Argiope aetherea annulipes Thorell, 1881
Gallery
References
