''Araneus angulatus'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

orb-weaving spider 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 ...

s found in the

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

. It resembles the

European garden spider The spider species ''Araneus diadematus'' is commonly called the European garden spider, diadem spider, orangie, cross spider, and crowned orb weaver. It is sometimes called the pumpkin spider, although this name is also used for a different spec ...

, ''Araneus diadematus'', but has distinctive tubercles on its abdomen. The species was first described in ''

Aranei Svecici The book ' or ' (Swedish and Latin, respectively, for "Swedish spiders") is one of the major works of the Swedish arachnologist and entomologist Carl Alexander Clerck and was first published in Stockholm in the year 1757. It was the first compre ...

'' in 1757, where it was the first species described, making ''Araneus angulatus'' the first scientific name of an animal that is still in use.

Description

''Araneus angulatus'' closely resembles the more frequently encountered

, ''Araneus diadematus'', but can be distinguished by the presence of angular

tubercle In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection ...

s on the abdomen.

Distribution

''Araneus angulatus'' is found across a wide geographical range in the

. It is widespread in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, although rarer in

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...

. ''A. angulatus'' is rare in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, where it is restricted to areas near the

South coast of England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes ...

Subspecies

Six subspecies are currently recognized: * ''Araneus angulatus afolius'' (Franganillo, 1909) — Portugal * ''Araneus angulatus atricolor'' Simon, 1929 — France * ''Araneus angulatus levifolius'' (Franganillo, 1909) — Portugal * ''Araneus angulatus niger'' (Franganillo, 1918) — Spain * ''Araneus angulatus nitidifolius'' (Franganillo, 1909) — Portugal * ''Araneus angulatus personatus'' Simon, 1929 Much of the previous subspecies are now part of '' Araneus pallidus''.

Ecology

''A. angulatus'' constructs a large orb web, suspended from bushes and trees, often with support lines leading to the ground. Unlike ''A. diadematus'', the web of ''A. angulatus'' has no retreat, so the spider must sit in the centre of the web while it waits for prey. It detects prey items by vibrations they cause in the web, but has also been observed during a country

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

, and reported to be "indifferent to crowds, music and

fireworks Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...

Taxonomic history

''Araneus angulatus'' was the first of the 66 species described in

Carl Alexander Clerck Carl Alexander Clerck (1709 – 22 July 1765) was a Sweden, Swedish entomologist and arachnology, arachnologist. Clerck came from a family in the petty Swedish nobility, nobility and entered the University of Uppsala in 1726. Little is known of hi ...

's 1757 work ' / '. Under the

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the ...

' has precedence over the 10th edition of

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

' ''

Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the system, now known as binomial nomen ...

'' from 1758, and is therefore the first work to contain

scientific name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

s of animals that are still in use.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1498643 Araneus Spiders of Europe Spiders described in 1757 Palearctic spiders Taxa named by Carl Alexander Clerck