Neoscona moreli

Morel's Grass Neoscona Orb-Web Spider
	Female
	Male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Araneidae
Genus:	Neoscona
Species:	N. moreli
Binomial name
	Neoscona moreli; (Vinson, 1863)
Synonyms
	Epeira lanuginosa Lenz, 1886 ; Araneus neotheis Petrunkevitch, 1911 ; Cubanella nidicola Franganillo, 1926 ; Cubanella recta Franganillo, 1930 ; Neoscona seca Roberts, 1983 ;

Neoscona moreli is a species of spider in the family Araneidae.^[2] It is commonly known as Morel's grass Neoscona orb-web spider.^[3]

Distribution

Neoscona moreli has a very wide global distribution, known from the Afrotropical Region, Cuba, and Argentina. In Southern Africa, it is recorded from Botswana and South Africa.^[3]

The species is found in all nine provinces of South Africa and occurs in more than ten protected areas at altitudes ranging from 12 to 2,020 m above sea level.^[3]

Habitat and ecology

The species is a very common grassland species that makes its web at night and removes it early in the morning. It has been sampled from the Forest, Grassland, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, Nama Karoo, Savanna, and Thicket biomes. The species has also been sampled from avocado, pecans and pistachio orchards, and cotton, lucerne, maize and tomato fields.^[3]

Description

female
female
male
male

Conservation

Neoscona moreli is listed as Least Concern by the South African National Biodiversity Institute due to its wide geographical range. There are no known threats to the species. The species has been sampled in more than 10 protected areas including Mkambati Nature Reserve, Roodeplaatdam Nature Reserve, Makalali Nature Reserve, Polokwane Nature Reserve, Erfenis Dam Nature Reserve, and Mpetsane Conservation Estate.^[3]

Taxonomy

The species was described by Vinson in 1863 from Réunion as Epeira morelii. It was revised by Grasshoff in 1986, who synonymized several species including Araneus lanuginosus, Neoscona neotheis, and N. seca.^[4]

References

^ Vinson, A. (1863). "Aranéides des îles de La Réunion, Maurice et Madagascar". Librairie Classique Eugène Belin, Paris: 337. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.125517.
^ "Neoscona moreli (Vinson, 1863)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e 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-Z). South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 6–7. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6326991. Retrieved 21 September 2025. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
^ Grasshoff, M. (1986). "Die Radnetzspinnen-Gattung Neoscona in Afrika (Arachnida: Araneae)". Annalen Zoologische Wetenschappen. 250: 1–123.

[vinson1863-1] Vinson, A. (1863). "Aranéides des îles de La Réunion, Maurice et Madagascar". Librairie Classique Eugène Belin, Paris: 337. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.125517.

[wsc-2] "Neoscona moreli (Vinson, 1863)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 21 September 2025.

[dippenaar2022-3] 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-Z). South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide. pp. 6–7. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6326991. Retrieved 21 September 2025. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

[grasshoff1986_moreli-4] Grasshoff, M. (1986). "Die Radnetzspinnen-Gattung Neoscona in Afrika (Arachnida: Araneae)". Annalen Zoologische Wetenschappen. 250: 1–123.

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