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Psechridae Fecenia

Fecenia protensa Thorell, 1891

Common Pseudo-orb Weaver

This species can be separated from F. ochracea in the field by the abdominal pattern and its smaller size. In F. protensa, the paired dark patches on the posterior dorsum are less distinctly defined. Unlike F. ochracea whose venter is traversed by an irregular band. the venter of F. protensa has a pair of pale patches.

Length♀ 8–12 mm; ♂ 7–12 mm
Type LocalityNicobar, India
DistributionSingapore, Malaysia (Pahang, Selangor, Sabah, Sarawak), Indonesia (Sumatra, Kalimantan, Bali), Brunei, Thailand, India.
HabitatForested areas, among branches in the understorey and in the canopy.
BiologyThe spider always suspends a retreat at the upper half of the pseudo-orb web. The retreat may be made of a rolled leaf, or from debris particles secured with silk. Insects trapped in the web are attacked and dragged into the retreat for consumption.

Taxonomy

Taxonomic references*

  1. Fecenia protensa (Original description j)

    Thorell, 1891 Spindlar från Nikobarerna och andra delar af södra Asien: 31

  2. Fecenia travancoria (Original description ♀)

    Pocock, 1899d Diagnoses of some new Indian Arachnida: 750

  3. Fecenia travancoria (♀)

    Pocock, 1900a The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Arachnida: 212 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.48423

  4. Fecenia sumatrana (Original description ♀)

    Kulczyński, 1908d Symbola ad faunam Aranearum Javae et Sumatrae cognoscendam: 568, pl. 23, f. 20

  5. Psechrus nicobarensis (Original description ♂♀)

    Tikader, 1977a Studies on spider fauna of Andaman and Nicobar islands, Indian Ocean: 208, f. 27A-E

  6. Fecenia nicobarensis (Transferred from Psechrus)

    Levi, 1982 The spider genera Psechrus and Fecenia (Araneae: Psechridae): 138

  7. Fecenia travancoria (removed from S of Fecenia macilenta, contra Lehtinen, 1967: 234 and Levi, 1982: )

    Murphy, 1986 Additional information concerning the spider family Psechridae: 65

  8. Psechrus alticeps (♂♀; misidentified per Bayer, 2011: 31)

    Sunil Jose & Sebastian, 2001a Occurrence of Psechrus alticeps Pocock (Araneae: Psechridae) in western Ghats, Kerala with a redescription and notes on its habit and habitat: 304, f. 1a-g

  9. Fecenia travancoria (♀)

    Bayer, 2011 Revision of the pseudo-orbweavers of the genus Fecenia Simon, 1887 (Araneae, Psechridae), with emphasis on their pre-epigyne: 36, f. 71-78, 111-113 doi:10.3897/zookeys.153.2110

  10. Fecenia protensa (♂♀, Synonym of Fecenia travancoria)

    Malamel, Pradeep & Sebastian, 2013 Fecenia travancoria Pocock is recognised as a junior synonym of Fecenia protensa Thorell (Araneae: Psechridae): a case of intraspecific variation: 360, f. 1, 2a-c, 3a-c, 4a-b, 5a-b, 6-10, 11a-b, 12a-b, 13a-b, 14a-b, 15 doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3741.3.4

  11. Fecenia protensa (♀)

    Bayer, 2014b Seven new species of Psechrus and additional taxonomic contributions to the knowledge of the spider family Psechridae (Araneae): 41, f. 1A, 24A-D doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3826.1.1

  12. Fecenia protensa (♂♀)

    Tan, Koh & Ang, 2018 New record of a pseudo-orb weaver, Fecenia ochracea (Doleschall, 1859) in Singapore (Araneae: Psechridae): 16, f. 1a, 2a, 6a-b, 7, 8c-d, 9c-d

* Retrieved from the World Spider Catalog.

Distribution Map for Fecenia protensa Thorell, 1891

Singapore, Malaysia (Pahang, Selangor, Sabah, Sarawak), Indonesia (Sumatra, Kalimantan, Bali), Brunei, Thailand, India.

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