Australian Golden Orb-Weaving Spider

Alice Springs Desert Park

ASDP ArachnidaAustralian Golden Orb-Weaving Spider Banded Garden Spider Desert Scorpion Green Lynx Spider Longtailed Orb-weaving Spider Longtailed Orb-weaving Spider with Prey Running Crab Spider Three-pointed Novakiella Wrap-around Spider

The Australian Golden Orb Weaving Spider (Trichonephila edulis), was previously classified under the genus Nephila edulis) is a fairly large spider that can be found throughout Australia, from coast to inland.

Also commonly spelt as the Golden Orb Weaver, as you walk around the Alice Springs Desert Park, keep your eyes peeled for the many spiders that live throughout the park, among which include the Australian Golden Orb-Weaver Spider.

With a large variable body size, it is the female of the species whose body can reach up to 40 mm length, whilst the male of the species is between 5 to 7 mm in length.

This extreme size difference between the male and female of the same species is called “sexual dimorphism”. You can see the difference in the following images. In some of the images there are two male Australian Golden Orb Weaver Spiders.

The male of the Golden Orb-Weaving Spider species are usually small, but sometimes they can be large, almost as large as the female of the species. These are known as dimorphic males. Unlike the female, the body shape is more elongated and slimmer.

The female spider have a dark-brown carapace (the “head”), a cream coloured abdomen, and yellow or reddish-brown banded legs. The males are often very small, and live on the same web as the female, although often outside of the reach of the female. There can often be more then one male spider on the web at a time. The web often have a gold glint to them in the sunlight.

Whilst out exploring the Alice Springs Desert Park, keep your eyes out for the insects that can be found throughout the park.

You can see more images of the Golden Orb on our Birthday Waterhole Fauna page and our Fauna section on Spiders – Australian Golden Orb Weaver Spider.

Read our blog… A tangled web… and There’s more than size, when opposite attracts.

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
Genus: Trichonephila
Species: T. edulis
Binomial name: Trichonephila edulis
Synonyms:
- Aranea edulis
- Epeira edulis
- Nephila edulis
- Nephila imperatrix
- Nephila eremiana

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