Zygiella Explained

Zygiella is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by F. O. Pickard-Cambridge in 1902.^[1] In 2015, Parazygiella was determined to be a taxonomic synonym of Zygiella, and its species were moved to Zygiella.^[2]

Identification

Zygiella species are distinguished by the structure of the web, which has a missing sector containing a signaling thread leading to a retreat. Zygiella x-notata, a species in the Zygiella genus, is well-researched for its missing-sector web construction behaviors.^[3]

Species

it contains eleven species:^[4]

• Zygiella atrica (C. L. Koch, 1845) (type) – Europe. Introduced to USA, Canada
• Zygiella calyptrata (Workman & Workman, 1894) – China, Myanmar, Malaysia
• Zygiella carpenteri Archer, 1951 – USA
• Zygiella dispar (Kulczyński, 1885) – North America, Russia (Far East), Japan
• Zygiella hiramatsui Tanikawa, 2017 – Japan
• Zygiella keyserlingi (Ausserer, 1871) – Southern Europe, Ukraine, Turkey
• Zygiella kirgisica Bakhvalov, 1974 – Kyrgyzstan
• Zygiella minima Schmidt, 1968 – Canary Is., Madeira
• Zygiella montana (C. L. Koch, 1834) – Europe, Turkey, Caucasus, Russia (Europe to Middle Siberia), Uzbekistan
• Zygiella nearctica Gertsch, 1964 – Canada, USA
• Zygiella x-notata (Clerck, 1757) – Europe, Turkey, Caucasus, Iran? Introduced to North America, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, China, Japan, Réunion

Notes and References

1. Pickard-Cambridge. F. O.. 1902. A revision of the genera of Araneae or spiders with reference to their type species.. Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 5–20. 9. 7. 10.1080/00222930208678530.
2. Phylogenetic position and composition of Zygiellinae and Caerostris, with new insight into orb-web evolution and gigantism. Matjaž. Gregorič. Ingi. Agnarsson. Todd A.. Blackledge. Matjaž. Kuntner. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 175. 2 . 2015 . 225–243 . 10.1111/zoj.12281. free.
3. Venner. Samuel. Pasquet. Alain. Leborgne. Raymond. Web-building behaviour in the orb-weaving spider Zygiella x-notata: influence of experience. Animal Behaviour. 2000 . 59. 3. 603–611. 10.1006/anbe.1999.1327. 10715183 . 41339367 . 0003-3472.
4. Gen. Zygiella F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902. World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. 2019-05-15. 2019. Natural History Museum Bern. 10.24436/2.