''Plebs'' 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 first described by M. M. Joseph & V. W. Framenau in 2012. Though many of its species have been moved around, a 2012 taxonomic revision suggested that these spiders comprise a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

genus of closely related spiders that evolved in

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 ...

and, through subsequent movements, spread into parts of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and Pacific islands.

Species

it contains twenty-two species. Seven are found in Australia, thirteen in Asia, one on

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 ...

, and one endemic to

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

. *'' Plebs arleneae'' Joseph & Framenau, 2012 – Australia (Queensland, New South Wales) *'' Plebs arletteae'' Joseph & Framenau, 2012 – Australia (Lord Howe Is.) *'' Plebs astridae'' ( Strand, 1917) – China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan *'' Plebs aurea'' (Saito, 1934) – Japan *'' Plebs baotianmanensis'' (Hu, Wang & Wang, 1991) – China *'' Plebs bradleyi'' (Keyserling, 1887) – Southeastern Australia, Tasmania *''

Plebs cyphoxis In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

'' ( Simon, 1908) – Australia (Western Australia, South Australia) *''

Plebs eburnus The spider species ''Plebs eburnus'' is commonly referred to as the eastern grass orb-weaver or the eastern bush orb-weaver, and sometimes more simply as the bush orb-weaver. It is an orb-weaver spider from the family Araneidae endemic to Austral ...

'' (Keyserling, 1886) (

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 ...

) – Eastern Australia, Tasmania *'' Plebs himalayaensis'' ( Tikader, 1975) – India *''

Plebs mitratus In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

'' (Simon, 1895) – India *''

Plebs neocaledonicus In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

'' ( Berland, 1924) – New Caledonia *''

Plebs oculosus In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

'' (Zhu & Song, 1994) – China *''

Plebs opacus In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

'' Joseph & Framenau, 2012 – Vanuatu *''

Plebs patricius In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

'' Joseph & Framenau, 2012 – Australia (Victoria, Tasmania) *''

Plebs plumiopedellus In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

'' (Yin, Wang & Zhang, 1987) – China, Taiwan *''

Plebs poecilus In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

'' (Zhu & Wang, 1994) – China *''

Plebs rosemaryae In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

'' Joseph & Framenau, 2012 – Australia (Queensland, Norfolk Is.) *''

Plebs sachalinensis In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

'' (Saito, 1934) – Russia (Far East), China, Korea, Japan *'' Plebs salesi'' Joseph & Framenau, 2012 – New Guinea *'' Plebs sebastiani'' Joseph & Framenau, 2012 – Philippines *'' Plebs tricentrus'' (Zhu & Song, 1994) – China *'' Plebs yanbaruensis'' (Tanikawa, 2000) – Japan

References

Araneidae Spiders of Asia Spiders of Australia Spiders of Oceania Araneomorphae genera {{Araneidae-stub