Plebs (spider) explained

Plebs is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by M. M. Joseph & V. W. Framenau in 2012.^[1] Though many of its species have been moved around, a 2012 taxonomic revision suggested that these spiders comprise a monophyletic genus of closely related spiders that evolved in Australia and, through subsequent movements, spread into parts of Asia and Pacific islands.

Etymology

"Plebs" is Latin for "common people" and refers to this genus being common in Australia.

Description

Plebs can be recognised by the unique pattern on the underside of the abdomen: a light inverted U shape, followed by two light spots anterolateral to the spinnerets. Spiders of this genus have a typical "eriophorine" genital morphology: the male pedipalp has a paramedian apophysis and an elongated transverse median apophysis, while the female epigyne has an elongated scape without terminal pockets.

Behaviour

These spiders are mainly diurnal, unlike most Araneinae which are mainly nocturnal. They build regular orb-webs with vertical stabilimenta (web decorations used by this and other diurnal orb-weavers). Their webs are generally built in grass and low shrubs.

Species

it contains twenty-two species. Seven are found in Australia, thirteen in Asia, one on New Caledonia, and one endemic to Vanuatu.^[2]

• Plebs arleneae Joseph & Framenau, 2012 – Australia (Queensland, New South Wales)
• Plebs arletteae Joseph & Framenau, 2012 – Australia (Lord Howe Is.)
• Plebs astridae (Strand, 1917) – China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan
• Plebs aurea (Saito, 1934) – Japan
• Plebs baotianmanensis (Hu, Wang & Wang, 1991) – China
• Plebs bradleyi (Keyserling, 1887) – Southeastern Australia, Tasmania
• Plebs cyphoxis (Simon, 1908) – Australia (Western Australia, South Australia)
• Plebs eburnus (Keyserling, 1886) (type) – Eastern Australia, Tasmania
• Plebs himalayaensis (Tikader, 1975) – India
• Plebs mitratus (Simon, 1895) – India
• Plebs neocaledonicus (Berland, 1924) – New Caledonia
• Plebs oculosus (Zhu & Song, 1994) – China
• Plebs opacus Joseph & Framenau, 2012 – Vanuatu
• Plebs patricius Joseph & Framenau, 2012 – Australia (Victoria, Tasmania)
• Plebs plumiopedellus (Yin, Wang & Zhang, 1987) – China, Taiwan
• Plebs poecilus (Zhu & Wang, 1994) – China
• Plebs rosemaryae Joseph & Framenau, 2012 – Australia (Queensland, Norfolk Is.)
• Plebs sachalinensis (Saito, 1934) – Russia (Far East), China, Korea, Japan
• Plebs salesi Joseph & Framenau, 2012 – New Guinea
• Plebs sebastiani Joseph & Framenau, 2012 – Philippines
• Plebs tricentrus (Zhu & Song, 1994) – China
• Plebs yanbaruensis (Tanikawa, 2000) – Japan

Notes and References

1. Joseph. Mathew M.. Framenau. Volker W.. 2012. Systematic review of a new orb-weaving spider genus (Araneae: Araneidae), with special reference to the Australasian-Pacific and South-East Asian fauna.. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 279–341. 166. 2. 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2012.00845.x. free.
2. Gen. Plebs Joseph & Framenau, 2012. World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. 2019-05-14. 2019. Natural History Museum Bern. 10.24436/2.