Herennia oz

Fact Box Species: Herennia oz (QM and see notes below) Family: Araneidae, formerly Nephilidae Body length: female: 12 mm male: 4 mm Habitat: In an orb web (see below) Toxicity: Unknown but probably harmless

The spider displayed on this page is presumed to be Herennia oz since this is the only Herennia species listed for Australia by the World Spider Catalog and as stated in the following paper: M. Kuntner (2005) "A Revision of Herennia (Araneidae: Nephilidae: Nephilinae), the Australasian 'coin spiders'", Invertebrate Systematics 19,replica watches 391-436. Herennia is otherwise an Asian genus and in Australia seems to be restricted to the tropics, especially the Northern Territory. It is included on this website because the southern border of its range may extend into Queensland.

It is said that the rarely seen male of Herennia oz has a very different external appearance, lacking the elaborate abdominal shape and surface markings the female has. It is very much smaller than the female, its body is almost uniformly red in colour, and it has black legs and chelicerae.

The available images indicate that adult Herennia species build a web that is described as a ladder-like in that it consists of vertically elongate parallel lines joined by multiple horizontal cross-lines with a solid silk hub-cap retreat incorporated into the web and the whole structure pressed tightly against a tree trunk.

Spider(s) with a very similar appearance: None.