''Arachnura'', also known as drag-tailed spider, scorpion-tailed spider and scorpion spider, is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of orb-weaver spiders that was first described by A. Vinson in 1863. They are distributed across

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

and

Eastern Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

with one species from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Females can grow up to long, while males reach only long. The name is a combination of the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

" arachne-" () and "

uro Uro or URO may refer to: * Aurochs, the predecessor of modern cattle * Uro Bonsai technique; see deadwood bonsai techniques * Uro, Delta, Nigeria * ''Uro'' (film), directed by Stefan Faldbakken * Uro (trucks), a Spanish truck manufacturer * ''Ur ...

" (), meaning "tail". The tails are only present on females, but unlike the common names suggests, these spiders aren't related to scorpions. They curl up their tails when disturbed, but they are completely harmless. Bites are rare, and result in minor symptoms such as local pain and swelling. They stay at the middle of their web day and night, and their bodies mimic

plant litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that have fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent ...

, such as fallen flowers, twigs, or dead leaves. ''Arachnura logio'' is called Kijiro o-hiki-gumo in Japanese. ''A. feredayi'' is commonly called Tailed forest spider. ''A. higginsi'' is often found in large numbers near water in Australia.

Species

it contains twelve species, found in Africa, Oceania, and Asia: *''

Arachnura angura ''Arachnura'', also known as drag-tailed spider, scorpion-tailed spider and scorpion spider, is a genus of Araneidae, orb-weaver spiders that was first described by A. Vinson in 1863. They are distributed across Australasia, South Asia, Southern ...

'' Tikader, 1970 –

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

*''

Arachnura feredayi ''Arachnura feredayi'', the tailed forest spider, is endemic to New Zealand. it is known for the distinctive tapering body shape in females which are also much larger than males, and for producing vertical columns of eggsacs in the 12 o'clock pos ...

'' (

L. Koch Ludwig Carl Christian Koch (8 November 1825 – 1 November 1908) was a German entomologist and arachnologist. He was born in Regensburg, Germany, and died in Nuremberg, Germany. He studied in Nuremberg, initially law, but then turned to medicin ...

, 1872) –

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

*''

Arachnura heptotubercula ''Arachnura'', also known as drag-tailed spider, scorpion-tailed spider and scorpion spider, is a genus of Araneidae, orb-weaver spiders that was first described by A. Vinson in 1863. They are distributed across Australasia, South Asia, Southern ...

'' Yin, Hu & Wang, 1983 –

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

*''

Arachnura higginsi ''Arachnura higginsi'', known as the tailed spider or scorpion tailed spider and the scorpion orb weaver, is a common Australia, Australian spider belonging to the family Araneidae. It occurs in many parts of Australia. Description and habit T ...

'' (L. Koch, 1872) –

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

*''

Arachnura logio ''Arachnura logio'' (Japanese Language, Japanese: Kijiro o-hiki-gumo) is a species of scorpion spider of the family Araneidae. It ranges from China to Japan. References

Spiders of Asia Chelicerates of Japan Spiders described in 1956 Aran ...

'' Yaginuma, 1956 – China,

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

*''

Arachnura melanura ''Arachnura melanura'', also known as scorpion tailed orb-weaver, black tail spider and drag tail spider is a species of spider in the family Araneidae. It ranges from India to Japan to Sulawesi. It camouflages itself by mimicking fallen flowers, ...

'' Simon, 1867 – India to Indonesia (Sulawesi) and Japan,

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, Australia (

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

) *''

Arachnura perfissa ''Arachnura'', also known as drag-tailed spider, scorpion-tailed spider and scorpion spider, is a genus of Araneidae, orb-weaver spiders that was first described by A. Vinson in 1863. They are distributed across Australasia, South Asia, Southern ...

'' ( Thorell, 1895) –

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

*'' Arachnura pygmaea'' (Thorell, 1890) –

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

(

Nias Nias ( id, Pulau Nias, Nias language: ''Tanö Niha'') (sometimes called Little Sumatra in English) is an island located off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago () of which the island is the centre, ...

Is.) *'' Arachnura quinqueapicata'' Strand, 1911 – Indonesia (Aru Is.) *''

Arachnura scorpionoides ''Arachnura scorpionoides'' is a species of drag tail spider, in the genus ''Arachnura'', native to Congo, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Mauritius. A specimen of this species has recently been seen (January 2013) in Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa. The sp ...

'' Vinson, 1863 (

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

) –

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

Mayotte Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is loc ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

*'' Arachnura simoni'' Berland, 1924 –

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

*'' Arachnura spinosa'' (Saito, 1933) –

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

In synonymy: *''A. longicauda'' Urquhart, 1885 = ''Arachnura feredayi'' (L. Koch, 1872)

References

External links

Pictures of ''A. logio''

2009-10-25)

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2025029 Araneidae Araneomorphae genera

Species

See also

References

External links