Leucorchestris arenicola
| Leucorchestris arenicola | |
|---|---|
| |
| White lady spider in Namibia | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Sparassidae |
| Genus: | Leucorchestris |
| Species: | L. arenicola
|
| Binomial name | |
| Leucorchestris arenicola Lawrence, 1962
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| Synonyms | |
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Leucorchestris arenicola (commonly called the dancing white lady spider) is a huntsman spider found in the deserts of Namibia. It should not be confused with the similarly named wheel spider from the same locale.[1][2] It relies on seismic vibrations for communication.[1] It taps its foremost legs on the sand to send messages to other white lady spiders.[1] Male white lady spiders will travel more than a mile in one night searching for a mate.[1] If they do find a mate, they must be extremely careful, for drumming the wrong message can be deadly.[1] The species was first described by Reginald Frederick Lawrence in 1962, who described all the species in the genus Leucorchestris.[2]
Description
L. arenicola have a creamy, white shading and bodies that are larger than 5 inches. Its legs are nearly 10 inches long, which is twice the size of the body. Male L. arenicola differ from females in that they are lighter in weight with larger leg spans.
Habitat and Distribution
L. arenicola are found primarily in desert regions of Namibia, particularly the dunes of the Namib Desert. The spiders reside in burrows that extend across an approximate 3 meter radius within bare dunes of the region.
Mating
Long-Distance Wandering
L. arenicola engage in long-distance wandering late at night in pursuit of mates before returning to their burrows. Male L. arenicola venture anywhere 16 to 91 meters outside of their radius, and walk approximately 42 to 314 meters within that radius. During this time, males venture into female territories, mating with up to 50% of the female spiders they come across. Both male and female L. arenicola are promiscuous organisms that engage in mating behavior upon encountering the spider of the opposite sex.
Male-Male Interactions
During long-distance wandering, male L. arenicola may encounter up to 5 other male territories. Males compete for mates during long-distance wanderings and often display aggressive and warning signals to other males. Male L. arenicola may interfere with another male in the process of mating. This applies especially for larger males. Roughly 50% of the mating behavior is dominated by 8% of the males in a region, of which all are larger in size. For males that do not differ greatly in size, a more avoidance strategy is used. These males will signal for other males to keep away via a sand drumming display.
References
- ^ a b c d e Henschel, Joh R. (2002). "Long-Distance Wandering and Mating by the Dancing White Lady Spider (Leucorchestris Arenicola) (Araneae, Sparassidae) Across Namib Dunes". Journal of Arachnology. 30 (2): 321–30. doi:10.1636/0161-8202(2002)030[0321:LDWAMB]2.0.CO;2.
- ^ a b Platnick, Norman I. (June 24, 2014). "Sparassidae". The World Spider Catalog, Version 15. American Museum of Natural History.
External links
- Nørgaard, Thomas; Henschel, Joh R.; Wehner, Rüdiger (2007). "Use of local cues in the night-time navigation of the wandering desert spider Leucorchestris arenicola (Araneae, Sparassidae)" (PDF). Journal of Comparative Physiology A. 193 (2): 217–22. doi:10.1007/s00359-006-0178-6. PMID 17235606. S2CID 1319746.
- Norgaard, T.; Nilsson, D.-E.; Henschel, J. R.; Garm, A.; Wehner, R. (2008). "Vision in the nocturnal wandering spider Leucorchestris arenicola (Araneae: Sparassidae)". Journal of Experimental Biology. 211 (5): 816–23. doi:10.1242/jeb.010546. PMID 18281345.
- Hallan, Joel 2006: Synopsis of the Described Araneae of the World. Texas A&M University Department of Entomology.