Araneus marmoreus
(Marbled Orb-weaver)

Picture ID 45807

Picture of Araneus marmoreus (Marbled Orb-weaver) - Dorsal

Comments & ID Thoughts

I believe this is an Araneus Diadematus. Also commonly known as a cross orb-weaver. Discovered on a hiking trail.

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CalumEwing

Close. This is the Marbled Orb Weaver, Araneus marmoreus, in the same family Araneidae.

TangledWeb

Dr. Ewing, how do you tell Hentz from marbled? I read that Neoscoma have the longitudinal grove in the cephalothorax that this specimen appears to have.

CalumEwing

Ah, good question. Many spider families have the groove you are referring to and it can vary a lot from genus to genus whether it is a short deep groove (almost like a narrow pit) to a longer broader furrow. You are right that this furrow can help to distinguish similar species if you can get a good look at it. In my experience, which is mostly with Canadian specimens, the various species of Neoscona have more prominent hairs/bristles on the abdomen and legs (especially the abdomen) than many of the Araneus. There are always exceptions though and the Barn… Read more »

TangledWeb

Thank you for the thorough response! Do you have any recommendations for worldwide spider ID keys online or printed? Most of my keys, to various life forms, have become outdated taxinomically due to new info from genomic testing. That leads me to mostly use multiple online resources. I want to do this as accurately as I can- given the limitations of using single photos.

CalumEwing

You are right that spider taxonomy is changing continuously and it’s hard to keep on top of all the changes. So using a range of resources is still the current best approach. You can still use older keys to get to a name (the spiders have not changed, just our understanding of them) and then check the current names in the World Spider Catalog at: https://wsc.nmbe.ch/ It has the latest updated taxonomy and you can search using older names to get the current placement and names. For online resources for ID’s, bugguide.net is good with lots of images. For UK… Read more »

TangledWeb

Thank you, I have some things to add to my Christmas wish list now. I’m sure other members of this site are interested too. I’m glad there are name compendiums. For Kindom Plantae, The Plant List is the ongoing work to sort out the mess of names plants have acquired over the centuries. They kept the name of the list simple too.

Bobby_longlegs
TangledWeb

Thanks! I bought it as soon as I saw your post. I had exactly the right amount of credit card points, to the penny, to get it free!

Bobby_longlegs

Really 🙂 You probably have more spider books than CalumEwing now. I love your enthusiasm 😀 I will buy me some books when I have something to spare. I believe there’s also a book on amazon for South African spiders. I wish there was a full global spider guide. Oh and I just watched something interesting on youtube. Just don’t mind his golden frontline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tYsqGlZkwE

Bobby_longlegs

I actually meant this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-T8qTsb9k8 although the other one was interesting too. Usually web building spiders rely on their webs for prey. In this video the cross spider was in the widow’s habitat, yet she still won the fight.

TangledWeb

Definitely a female orbweaver. I think Neoscoma crucifera, Hentz orbweaver. She has a indented line down her body, especially on her cephothorax that differentiates Neoscoma from the more dimpled Araneus genus

TangledWeb

BobbyLongLegs look here!

Bobby_longlegs

Haha, thank you!

Additional Pictures

Picture of Araneus marmoreus (Marbled Orb-weaver) Enlarge Picture
Picture of Araneus marmoreus (Marbled Orb-weaver) Enlarge Picture
Picture of Araneus marmoreus (Marbled Orb-weaver) Enlarge Picture
Picture of Araneus marmoreus (Marbled Orb-weaver) Enlarge Picture