''Trichonephila edulis'' is a species of large spider of the family

Araneidae Orb-weaver spiders are members of the spider family Araneidae. They are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields, and forests. The English word "orb" can mean "circular", hence the English name ...

, formerly placed in the genus ''

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 ...

''. It is referred to the common name Australian golden orb weaver. It is found in

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 ...

from

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

eastwards,

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 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 ...

, northern

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. It has a large body size variability, females can reach a body length of up to 40 millimetres, males about 7 mm. The

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

is black with a white pattern on the back, and a yellow underside; the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

is grey to brown. The web is about 1 metre in diameter and protected on one or both sides by a strong "barrier" web. ''T. edulis'' breeds from February to May, and produces an average of 380 eggs. According to the phylogeny tree of Nephilidae, ''T. edulis'' is closely related to its congener ''

Trichonephila plumipes ''Trichonephila plumipes'' is a species of spider found in Australia, Indonesia and some Pacific Islands, which exhibits extreme sexual dimorphism through its sexual cannibalism behavior. It is sometimes called the tiger spider due to its marking ...

'' (tiger spider) which is also commonly found in Australia.

Name

The species was first collected and named by

Jacques Labillardiere Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

, in ''

Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse ''Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse'' is an 1800 book that gives an account of the 1791-1793 d'Entrecasteaux expedition to Australasia. The title refers to the search for La Pérouse, who disappeared in the region in 1788, a popul ...

'' (1799), becoming the second Australian spider to be described by a European naturalist. (The first was '' Gasteracantha fornicata''.) The species name ''edulis'' means "edible" in Latin. Labillardiere wrote: ”Les habitans de la Nouvelle-Calédonie appellent ''nougui'' cette espèce d'araignée, que je désigne sous le nom d' aranea edulis (araignée que les Calédoniens mangent).“ („The inhabitants of New Caledonia call this spider ''nougui''. I have described it under the name Aranea edulis, meaning spiders that the New Caledonians eat.“)

As food

''Trichonephilia edulis'' is an edible spider. Several related spiders are considered a

delicacy A delicacy is usually a rare and expensive food item that is considered highly desirable, sophisticated, or peculiarly distinctive within a given culture. Irrespective of local preferences, such a label is typically pervasive throughout a r ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

, "plucked by the legs from their webs and lightly roasted over an open fire".

References

Gallery

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2338293 Araneidae Edible spiders Spiders of Australia Spiders of Indonesia Spiders of New Caledonia Spiders of New Zealand Fauna of Papua New Guinea Spiders described in 1799 Taxa named by Jacques Labillardière Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN

Name

As food

References

Further reading

Gallery

External links