Bird-dung Orb-weaver, Orchard Spider Celaenia excavata (L. Koch, 1867)
Fauna Portal species: 4286
Celaenia excavata female, frontal (HBI N27357; Hovea, Western Australia)
Image: V.W. Framenau (2025)
Fauna Portal Image No. 11284Diagnosis
The genus Celaenia has not been revised with modern taxonomic methods. Orchard Spiders are very distinct in shape and colouration. Characteristic are a black spot at the front of the abdomen and bicoloured femora I and II.
Status
- native
Linnean Holotype
Australia
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Western Australia
Neighbouring Countries
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
Fauna Portal Records
The map shows all records that have been verified as part of the Fauna Portal project and may not represent the true distribution of a species. Specifically, for described species, check the link to the Atlas of Living Australia on this page for potential wider distributions. Fauna Portal Reference specimens and Linnean types are shown in red. If you identified a specimen that exceeds the distribution of an undescribed species as illustrated here, please contact the Fauna Portal team who can assist with the lodgement of the specimen in a public institution and display on the map.
Publications
(1971): Three Tasmanian spiders of the genus Celaenia Thorell (Araneida) with notes on their biology. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania. 105: 75 - 82
(1996): The genus Taczanowskia of the orb-weaver spider family Araneidae (Araneae). Anales del Instituto Biológico de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Serie Zoologia. 67: 183 - 195
(1961): Die Entomologischen Sammlungen des Zoologischen Staatsinstituts und Zoologischen Museums Hamburg. II. Teil. Chelicerata II: Araneae. Mitteilungen aus dem Hamburgischen Zoologischen Museum und Institut. 59: 1 - 60