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Araneidae Neoscona

Neoscona theisi (Walckenaer, 1841)

Serrated Spearhead Neoscona

The female may be recognised by the dorsal design of a serrated (saw-like) spear on a longish abdomen. The background colour may vary from yellow to brown, and the teeth of the "spear" may range from two to five pairs. The venter has a light-coloured horse-shoe pattern behind a conspicuously dark and elongated "scape". In some males, the spear pattern seen in the female dorsum is absent.

Length♀ highly variable 5–13 mm, usually 7–10 mm; ♂ 5–7 mm.
HabitatWasteland, roadside vegetation near forests.
Type LocalityGuam.
DistributionWidespread, including South Asia, East Asia, Australasia, Singapore, Malaysia (Sabah), Indonesia (Papua), Philippines, Guam.

Taxonomy

Type Depositories

  1. Holotype

    Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt am Main (SMF), Germany; ♀ (3435-117) of Neoscona theisi feisiana (Nentwig et al., 2019)

  2. Holotype

    National Natural History Collections, Hebrew University, Jerusalem (HUJ), Israel; ♂ (13744) of Neoscona sodom (Levy, 1998a)

  3. Holotype

    National Museum of Natural History = United States National Museum (USNM), Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA; ♀ of Epeira eclipsis (Marx, 1893)

  4. Paratype(s)

    National Natural History Collections, Hebrew University, Jerusalem (HUJ), Israel; 1♀ (13743) of Neoscona sodom (Levy, 1998a)

Taxonomic references

  1. Epeira theis (Original description ♀)

    Walckenaer, 1841 Histoire naturelle des Insects. Aptères. Tome deuxième: 53, pl. 18, f. 4 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.61095

  2. Epeira mangareva (Original description ♀)

    Walckenaer, 1847a Dernier Supplément: 469 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.61095

  3. Epeira assidua (Original description ♀)

    Vinson, 1863 Aranéides des îles de La Réunion, Maurice et Madagascar: 180, 310 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.125517

  4. Epeira braminica (Original description ♀)

    Stoliczka, 1869 Contribution towards the knowledge of Indian Arachnoidea: 238, pl. 20, f. 8

  5. Epeira mangareva (♀, D♂)

    L. Koch, 1871 Die Arachniden Australiens, nach der Natur beschrieben und abgebildet [Erster Theil, Lieferung 1-2]: 85, pl. 7, f. 4 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.121660

  6. Epeira theisii

    Thorell, 1877b Studi sui Ragni Malesi e Papuani: 390

  7. Epeira theisii

    Thorell, 1878b Studi sui ragni Malesi e Papuani: 65

  8. Epeira eclipsis (Original description ♀)

    Marx, 1893 On a new genus and some new species of Araneae from the west coast of Africa collected by the U. S. Steamer Enterprise: 590, pl. 70, f. 6a-b

  9. Epeira theisi (Synonym of Epeira bramanica, E. mangareva and E. moreli; Neoscona moreli revalidated by Grasshoff, 1980: 407)

    Simon, 1893h Arachnides: 207

  10. Epeira speciosa (Original description j; preoccupied by Pallas, 1773, see Argiope bruennichi)

    Rainbow, 1897a The arachnidan fauna of Funafuti: 120, pl. 5, f. 2

  11. Araneus mangarevus (♀)

    Pocock, 1897c Spinnen (Araneae): 601, pl. 25, f. 11

  12. Araneus theis (Synonym of Epeira annulipes Rainbow, E. distincta, E. etheridgei, E. festiva, E. hoggi, E. longispina, E. multispina, E. obscura, E. speciosa Rainbow and E. ventricosa)

    Pocock, 1898i List of the Arachnida and "Myriopoda" obtained in Funafuti by Prof: 324 doi:10.1080/00222939808677979

  13. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1904 Arachnida - Araneida and Opiliones: 470, pl. 44. f. 9-10

  14. Aranea theisii (♂♀)

    Tullgren, 1910 Araneae: 164, pl. 4, f. 112 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.6622

  15. Araneus theisi

    Merian, 1911 Die Spinnenfauna von Celebes: 213, pl

  16. Aranea theisi feisiana (Original description ♀)

    Strand, 1911b Vorläufige Diagnosen neuer Spinnen, insbesondere aus der Südsee, des Senckenbergischen Museums: 203

  17. Aranea theisi feisiana (♀)

    Strand, 1915d Indoaustralische, papuanische und polynesische Spinnen des Senckenbergischen Museums, gesammelt von Dr E: 221, pl. 14, f. 19

  18. Araneus theisi (♀)

    Berland, 1932b Les Arachnides (Scorpions, Araignées, etc: 393, f. 564-567

  19. Aranea theisi (♀)

    Roewer, 1938 Araneae: 39, f. 27

  20. Araneus theisi (5)

    Saito, 1939 On the spiders from Tohoku (northernmost part of the main island), Japan: 22, f. 3

  21. Aranea speciosissima (replacement name for Epeira speciosa Rainbow, 1897)

    Roewer, 1942a Katalog der Araneae von 1758 bis 1940. 1. Band (Mesothelae, Orthognatha, Labidognatha: Dysderaeformia, Scytodiformia, Pholciformia, Zodariiformia, Hersiliaeformia, Argyopiformia): 833

  22. Araneus theisi (♂♀)

    Nakatsudi, 1943a Some Arachnida from Micronesia: 156, f. 6-8, pl. XXII, f. 3-4

  23. Neoscona theisi (T♂♀ from Araneus)

    Yaginuma, 1955a On the Japanese spiders: genera Mangora, Neoscona, and Zilla: 17, pl. I, f. 3 doi:10.2476/asjaa.14.15

  24. Neoscona theisi (♀)

    Yaginuma, 1960 Spiders of Japan in colour: 57, f. 53

  25. Araneus theisi (♂♀)

    Chrysanthus, 1960 Spiders from south New Guinea III: 39, f. 44, 53-55, 61, 73

  26. Neoscona theisi (♀)

    Lee, 1966 [Spiders of Formosa (Taiwan)]: 42, f. 12a-b

  27. Neoscona theisi (♀)

    Yaginuma, 1971 Spiders of Japan in colour (enlarged and revised edition): 57, f. 53

  28. Araneus theisi (♀)

    Chrysanthus, 1971 Further notes on the spiders of New Guinea I (Argyopidae): 31, f. 59-61

  29. Araneus theisi (♂♀)

    Patel, 1975b Studies on some spiders of the family Argiopidae (Arachnida: Araneae) from Gujarat, India: 158, f. 1a-g

  30. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Yin, 1978 [A study on the general orb-weaver spiders and wolf-spiders (Araneae: Araneidae, Lycosidae) from rice fields]: 5, f. 13A-D

  31. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Song, 1980 [Farm Spiders]: 105, f. 50a-d

  32. Neoscona theis (♂♀)

    Tikader & Bal, 1981 Studies on some orb-weaving spiders of the genera Neoscona Simon and Araneus Clerck of the family Araneidae (=Argiopidae) from India: 32, f. 13, 68-72

  33. Neoscona theisi (♀)

    Tikader & Biswas, 1981 Spider fauna of Calcutta and vicinity: Part-I: 26, f. 31-33

  34. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Wang, 1981 [Protection and utilization of spiders in paddy fields]: 95, f. 35A-C

  35. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Tikader, 1982a Part 1: 269, f. 62, 538-542

  36. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Hu, 1984 The Chinese spiders collected from the fields and the forests: 126, f. 126.1-2

  37. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Grasshoff, 1986 Die Radnetzspinnen-Gattung Neoscona in Afrika (Arachnida: Araneae): 69, f. 90-100

  38. Neoscona theisi (♀)

    Yaginuma, 1986a Spiders of Japan in color (new ed: 104, f. 55.7

  39. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Zhang, 1987 [Farm spiders from Hebei Province]: 87, f. 71.1-3

  40. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Barrion et al., 1988a The orb-weaving spiders genus Neoscona (Araneae: Araneidae) in the Philippines: 402, f. 6a-g, 7a-e, 9f-g

  41. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Davies, 1988b An illustrated guide to the genera of orb-weaving spiders in Australia: 300, f. 21

  42. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Chikuni, 1989b Pictorial encyclopedia of spiders in Japan: 72, f. 32

  43. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Feng, 1990 Spiders of China in colour: 95, f. 70.1-4

  44. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Chen & Gao, 1990 The Sichuan farmland spiders in China: 68, f. 87a-c

  45. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Chen & Zhang, 1991 Fauna of Zhejiang: Araneida: 118, f. 112.1-3

  46. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Zhao, 1993 Spiders in the cotton fields in China: 257, f. 120a-b

  47. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 Riceland spiders of South and Southeast Asia: 625, f. 394a-e, 305a-d

  48. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Zhao, 1995 Araneida: 974, f. 459a-b

  49. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Yin et al., 1997d Fauna Sinica: Arachnida: Araneae: Araneidae: 375, f. 269a-g

  50. Neoscona sodom (Original description ♂♀)

    Levy, 1998a Twelve genera of orb-weaver spiders (Araneae, Araneidae) from Israel: 340, f. 117-126

  51. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Tanikawa, 1998b A revision of the Japanese spiders of the genus Neoscona (Araneae: Araneidae): 137, f. 1-8, 11-17 doi:10.2476/asjaa.47.133

  52. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Song, Zhu & Chen, 1999 The spiders of China: 301, f. 177V-X, 179L, 181H

  53. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Hu, 2001 Spiders in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China: 471, f. 311.1-5

  54. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Song, Zhu & Chen, 2001 The Fauna of Hebei, China: Araneae: 220, f. 135A-F

  55. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Namkung, 2002 The spiders of Korea: 269, f. 19.31a-c

  56. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Kim & Kim, 2002 A revisional study of family Araneidae Dahl, 1912 (Arachnida, Araneae) from Korea: 221, f. 65, 151, 282-284

  57. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Namkung, 2003 The Spiders of Korea, 2nd: 271, f. 19.31a-c

  58. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Butt & Siraj, 2006 Some orb weaver spiders from Punjab, Pakistan: 215, f. 1A-G

  59. Neoscona theis (♂♀)

    Gajbe, 2007 Araneae: Arachnida: 533, f. 326-330

  60. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Tanikawa, 2007c An identification guide to the Japanese spiders of the families Araneidae, Nephilidae and Tetragnathidae: 67, f. 150-159, 572-574

  61. Neoscona theisi (♀)

    Barrion-Dupo, 2008 Taxonomy of Philippine derby spider (Araneae: Araneidae): 239, f. 1H, 2D

  62. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Tanikawa, 2009 Hersiliidae: 443, f. 152-154

  63. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Zhu & Zhang, 2011 Spider Fauna of Henan: Arachnida: Araneae: 244, f. 176A-E

  64. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Yin et al., 2012 Fauna Hunan: Araneae in Hunan, China: 745, f. 371a-g

  65. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Kim & Lee, 2012b Arthropoda: Arachnida: Araneae: Araneidae: 102, f. 75A-C

  66. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Dierkens & Charlat, 2013 Contribution à la connaissance des araignées des îles de la Société (Polynésie française): 75, f. 28-29

  67. Neoscona theis (♂♀)

    Biswas & Raychaudhuri, 2013c Orb-weaving spiders of Bangladesh: genus Neoscona Simon (Araneae: Araneidae): 175, f. 62-69

  68. Neoscona theisi (♀)

    Roy, Saha & Raychaudhuri, 2017 On the araneid fauna (Araneae: Araneidae) of the tea estates of Dooars, West Bengal, India: 25, f. 155-160, 196

  69. Neoscona theisi (♀)

    Basu, Roy & Raychaudhuri, 2017 Neoscona Simon, 1864, the 'true orb weavers' in ricelands of Gangetic Delta, South 24-Parganas, West Bengal, India: 66, f. xviii-xxiii, 18-23

  70. Neoscona theisi (♀, Synonym of Neoscona theisi feisiana)

    Nentwig et al., 2019 Tackling taxonomic redundancy in spiders: the infraspecific spider taxa described by Embrik Strand (Arachnida: Araneae): 34, f. 4a-f doi:10.30963/aramit5809

  71. Neoscona sodom (♂)

    Bosmans et al., 2019b Spiders of Cyprus (Araneae): 9, f. 1a-e

  72. Neoscona theisi (♂♀, Synonym of Neoscona sodom; ♀: f. 12C-D, 13A-B see Neoscona spasskyi, misidentified per

    Zamani, Marusik & Šestáková, 2020 On Araniella and Neoscona (Araneae, Araneidae) of the Caucasus, Middle East and Central Asia: 36, f. 11A-B, 14A,D, 17A-C doi:10.3897/zookeys.906.47978

  73. Neoscona theisi (♂♀)

    Jaffry, Butt & Zahra, 2024 Orb-weavers (Araneae: Araneidae, Nephilidae) from the Margalla Hills National Park, Pakistan with comments on morphological variation in Neoscona mukerjei Tikader, 1980 and emasculation in Nephila pilipes (Fabricius, 1793): 420, f. 6A-G, 7A-D doi:10.54692/lgujls.2023.0704305

  74. Neoscona theisi (♀)

    Hamid & Al-Khazali, 2025 Hersiliola babilinus sp: 36, f. 4A-C, 5A-F doi:10.37828/em.2025.83.4

  75. Neoscona theisi (♂)

    Zonstein, 2025b New data on the spider genus Siwa Grasshoff, 1970 (Aranei: Araneidae): 292, f. 35-36 doi:10.15298/arthsel.34.2.13

Distribution of Neoscona theisi (Walckenaer, 1841)

Widespread, including South Asia, East Asia, Australasia, Singapore, Malaysia (Sabah), Indonesia (Papua), Philippines, Guam.

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