Cladomelea Explained

Cladomelea is a genus of African orb-weaver spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1895.^[1] Adult females of the genus are bolas spiders, capturing their prey with one or more sticky drops at the end of a single line of silk rather than in a web. Males and juvenile females capture their prey directly with their legs.

Species

it contains four species:^[2]

• Cladomelea akermani Hewitt, 1923 – South Africa
• Cladomelea debeeri Roff & Dippenaar-Schoeman, 2004 – South Africa
• Cladomelea longipes (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1877) – Congo
• Cladomelea ornata Hirst, 1907 – Central Africa

Notes and References

1. Book: Simon, E. Histoire naturelle des araignées. 1892. 10.5962/bhl.title.51973.
2. Web site: Gen. Cladomelea Simon, 1895. World Spider Catalog. 2019-05-13. Natural History Museum Bern.