Acantharachne Explained

Acantharachne is a genus of African orb-weaver spiders first described by Albert Tullgren in 1910.^[1]

Taxonomy

The genus Acantharachne was erected by Albert Tullgren in 1910 for the species Acantharachne cornuta. There was already a genus of echinoderms with a name differing only in the last letter, Acantharachna, so in 1929, Embrik Strand put forward a replacement name, Acantharanea. However, as the spelling was different, even if only by one letter, replacement was unnecessary.

Species

it contains eight species:^[2]

• Acantharachne cornuta Tullgren, 1910 – East Africa
• Acantharachne giltayi Lessert, 1938 – Congo, Madagascar
• Acantharachne lesserti Giltay, 1930 – Congo
• Acantharachne madecassa Emerit, 2000 – Madagascar
• Acantharachne milloti Emerit, 2000 – Madagascar
• Acantharachne psyche Strand, 1913 – Central Africa
• Acantharachne regalis Hirst, 1925 – Cameroon, Congo
• Acantharachne seydeli Giltay, 1935 – Congo

Notes and References

1. Book: Tullgren, A.. 1910. Araneae.. 10.5962/bhl.title.6622.
2. Web site: Gen. Acantharachne Tullgren, 1910. World Spider Catalog. 2019-05-11. Natural History Museum Bern.