''Nephila komaci'' is a species of

golden orb-web spider ''Nephila'' is a genus of araneomorph spiders noted for the impressive webs they weave. ''Nephila'' consists of numerous species found in warmer regions around the world. They are commonly called golden silk orb-weavers, golden orb-weavers, gian ...

. It is the largest

web Web most often refers to: * Spider web, a silken structure created by the animal * World Wide Web or the Web, an Internet-based hypertext system Web, WEB, or the Web may also refer to: Computing * WEB, a literate programming system created by ...

-spinning spider known. A few specimens have been found in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and

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 ...

Discovery

This species was first identified in a

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

museum collection in 2000. The species is named in honor of Andrej Komac, a late friend of one of the

arachnologists Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and harvestmen. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly, the study of sp ...

who reported its discovery in 2009. It was not discovered in the wild until 2007, when it was located in

Tembe Elephant Park Tembe Elephant Park is a 30 012 ha game reserve in Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is adjacent to Ndumo Game Reserve. The park was developed by Tembe Tribal Authority and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. It was established in 1983 to protect ...

. It was one of the first new ''

Nephila ''Nephila'' is a genus of araneomorph spiders noted for the impressive webs they weave. ''Nephila'' consists of numerous species found in warmer regions around the world. They are commonly called golden silk orb-weavers, golden orb-weavers, gian ...

'' spiders to be discovered in more than a century; most were discovered in the 19th century.

Description

''N. komaci'' females are the largest ''Nephila'' yet discovered. Displaying

sexual size dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

commonly observed in various species of spiders, the size of a male reaches a leg span of only about 2.5 centimetres, with a body length of about 9 mm, roughly one fifth of that of a female. The tip-to-tip leg span of a female is about 12 cm (body length c. 4 cm), with a web that is equally impressive in size, measuring more than a metre in diameter.

Reproduction

Males wait for a female to

molt In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is the manner in which an animal routinely casts off a part of its body (often, but not always, an outer ...

, and immediately afterwards

inseminate Insemination is the introduction of sperm into a female’s reproductive system for the purpose of impregnating, also called fertilizing, the female for sexual reproduction. The sperm is introduced into the uterus of a mammal or the oviduct of an ...

her, breaking off their

genitalia A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...

within the female, which thereby acts as a plug to prevent other males from

mating In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. ''Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reproduc ...

with her. The now sterile male then spends the rest of his life (life span: about one year) driving away other males. Nevertheless, females with several dismembered male organs within them have been found.

Distribution

All known localities lie within two endangered

biodiversity hotspot A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after which the co ...

Maputaland Maputaland is a natural region of Southern Africa. It is located in the northern part of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa between Eswatini and the coast. In a wider sense it may also include the southernmost region of Mozambique. The bi ...

Pondoland Pondoland or Mpondoland (Xhosa: ''EmaMpondweni''), is a natural region on the South African shores of the Indian Ocean. It is located in the coastal belt of the Eastern Cape province. Its territory is the former Mpondo Kingdom of the Mpondo peopl ...

- Albany and Madagascar. Its only definitive current habitat is a sand forest in Tembe Elephant Park, which is in itself endangered.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q310874 Araneidae Spiders of Africa Spiders described in 2009