Araneus Clerck, 1757

Wu, Yibei, Wang, Cheng, Wu, Nanfei, Zhang, Mengfei & Mi, Xiaoqi, 2023, On four new species of the orb-weaver spider genus Araneus Clerck, 1757 (Araneae, Araneidae) from southern China, ZooKeys 1160, pp. 169-190 : 169

Genus Araneus Clerck, 1757

Araneus Clerck, 1757: 22.

Type species.

Araneus angulatus Clerck, 1757.

Comments.

Although the four new species are different from the generotype A. angulatus in thier smaller body size and having the abdomen lacking a pair of anterolateral humps, the epigynal base not elongated, and a shorter scape which does not extend far beyond the epigastric furrow, we provisionally place them in this genus because they share a very similar habitus and copulatory organs with other Araneus species. There is no doubt that their generic position needs confirmation, but it is not discussed here due to limited evidence.