Paralarinia
| Paralarinia | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Paralarinia Grasshoff, 1970[1] |
| Type species | |
| P. denisi (Lessert, 1938)
| |
| Species | |
|
4, see text | |
Paralarinia is a genus of African orb-weaver spiders first described by M. Grasshoff in 1970.[2]
Description
Manfred Grasshoff provided very little information on the genus morphology, with only information on the genitalia available. Based on Lessert's (1933) description for P. bartelsi, the genus is characterized by a yellow-brown cephalothorax with an almost entirely dark cephalic region.[3]
The eyes are located on black spots. The brown sternum is adorned with blackish marginal spots. The legs are brown mottled and banded with brown-black coloration, featuring a wide ring at the end of the anterior femora and all protarsi.[3]
The abdomen is greyish yellow and adorned with a distinct folium with scalloped edges and a finely white border. The folium is bounded forward by two oblique spots converging forward and adorned back, on the longitudinal midline, with three lighter spots. The ventral region is brownish and marked by three black longitudinal lines.[3]
Species
As of September 2025, this genus includes four species:[1]
- Paralarinia agnata Grasshoff, 1970 – DR Congo
- Paralarinia bartelsi (Lessert, 1933) – South Africa
- Paralarinia denisi (Lessert, 1938) – DR Congo (type species)
- Paralarinia incerta (Tullgren, 1910) – Central, East Africa
References
- ^ a b "Genus Paralarinia". World Spider Catalog. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
- ^ Grasshoff, M. (1970). "Die Tribus Mangorini. II. Die neuen Gattungen Siwa, Paralarinia, Faradja, Mahembea und Lariniaria (Arachnida: Araneae: Araneidae-Araneinae)". Senckenbergiana Biologica. 51: 409–423.
- ^ a b c Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S.; Haddad, C.R.; Foord, S.H.; Lotz, L.N.; Webb, P. (2022). The Araneidae of South Africa. Version 2: part 3 (Ne-U). South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 27, 32. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6326991. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.