Trichonephila fenestrata

Trichonephila fenestrata is a southern African species of spider in the family Araneidae. It is commonly known as the black-legged golden orb-web spider.

Distribution

Trichonephila fenestrata occurs in Eswatini, Lesotho, and South Africa. In South Africa, it is found in all provinces and occurs in more than 20 protected areas.
Three subspecies are known from different parts of Africa.

Habitat and ecology

The species inhabits altitudes ranging from 0 to 1,795 m above sea level and has been sampled from all biomes except the Desert and Succulent Karoo biomes. Trichonephila fenestrata constructs large, complete golden yellow coloured orb webs between trees and shrubs. The species has also been sampled in citrus and prickly pear orchards.
Males of this species often autotomize their legs as a counter-adaptation to the sexual cannibalism of females.

Conservation

Trichonephila fenestrata is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide range. The species is protected in more than 20 protected areas.

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Thorell in 1859 as Nephila fenestrata from Caffraria. It was transferred to the genus Trichonephila by Kuntner et al. in 2019. The species is known from both sexes.