Common Cross Spider Argiope aetherea (Walckenaer, 1841)
Fauna Portal species: 6299
Argiope aetherea female, dorsal (Lae, Papua New Guinea)
Image: Levi (1983; fig. 303)
Fauna Portal Image No. 4051Diagnosis
(after Levi 1983): Argiope aetherea differs from other similar species by the pentagonal shape of the abdomen; from A. picta also by the dorsal abdominal markings and the anterior lip of the opening in the depression of the epigynum which flares to each side (unlike A. picta); and by the yellow-to-orange color of the sternum (compared to the white markings on the venter). The anterior white branch of the paraxial white line on the venter of the abdomen is long in A. aetherea, short in A. picta. The palpus of the male differs from that of A. picta in several ways: in lacking an "upper" lobe on the conductor behind the embolus; in the pendant of the embolus occurring at a greater distance from the tip; and in the orientation of the spur toward the embolus on the "upper" surface of the median apophysis (on the "lower" edge of the tip in A. picta).
Status
- native
Linnean Type
Specimens from Port de Dorey, New Guinea [Dorei, Vogelkop Peninsula, West Irian], lost (Levi 1983).
Australia
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- Western Australia
Neighbouring Countries
- Indonesia
- Papua New Guinea
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.
Similar Species
Publications
(1983): The orb-weaver genera Argiope, Gea, and Neogea from the western Pacific region (Araneae: Araneidae, Argiopinae).. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 150: 247 - 338