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Clitaetra irenae Life
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Opisthokonta >
Metazoa
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Arthropoda > Arachnomorpha > Cheliceriformes > Chelicerata > Euchelicerata
> Arachnida > Araneae
> Araneomorpha > Family: Nephilidae
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Clitaetra irenae female. [photo Matjaž
Kuntner ©] |
Clitaetra irenae female. [photo Matjaž
Kuntner ©] |
This spider lives in trees (arboricolous) that inhabit the
coastal plain forests of Maputaland in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, extending
inland to woodlands in Malawi. It also occurs in Madagascar. The ecological
niche of Clitaetra irenae is flexible; it normally constructs a permanent
web against the bark on suitable trees that supply a partially closed canopy.
The web changes from an orb-web and extends downwards to form a ladder-web
allowing the spider to live against a single tree with the hub place at the top.
Webs are constructed with white silk.
Publications (by date)
- Kuntner M. 2006. Phylogenetic systematics of the Gondwanan nephilid
spider lineage Clitaetrinae (Araneae, Nephilidae). Zoologica Scripta 35:
19-62.
- Kuntner M, Haddad CR, Aljančič G, Blejec A. 2008. Ecology and web
allometry of Clitaetra irenae, an arboricolous African orb-weaving
spider (Araneae, Araneoidea, Nephilidae). Journal of Arachnology 36:
583-594.
- Kuntner M, Agnarsson I. 2009. Phylogeny accurately predicts behavior in
Indian Ocean Clitaetra spiders (Araneae: Nephilidae). Invertebrate
Systematics 23: 193-204. doi
10.1071/IS09002
Text by Norman Larsen ©
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