Araneus quadratus Clerck, 1757
Description
Male palp with deeply forked median apophysis. Epigyne with strongly widened scapus basally. Prosoma bright yellow-brown with darker margin. Sternum black, sometimes with bright median spot. Chelicerae brown. Legs light brown, darkly annulated. Opisthosoma with base colour varying form almost white via greenish yellow to luscious red-brown, but always with 4 large white spots.
Body length male: 7-11 mmBody length female: 10.5-20.5 mm
Additional information
mostly on grass in damp meadows
Frequency: very frequent in some places
Distribution
Phenology
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
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Figures
Pedipalp
(Wiehle 1931)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Azheganova 1968)
Pedipalp, ventral view
(Roberts 1995)
Pedipalp
(Wiehle 1931)
Pedipalp
(Locket & Millidge 1953)
Pedipalp, prolateral view
(Grasshoff 1968)
Pedipalp, expanded
(Breitling 2020)
Tegular apophysis
(Loksa 1972)
Palpal apophysis
(Loksa 1972)
Epigyne
(Azheganova 1968)
Epigyne
(Roberts 1995)
Epigyne
(Wiehle 1931)
Epigyne
(Loksa 1972)
Epigyne
(Locket & Millidge 1953)
Epigyne, ventral view
(Grasshoff 1968)
Habitus
(Loksa 1972)
Opisthosoma, dorsal view
(Heimer & Nentwig 1991)
Habitus
(Locket & Millidge 1953)
Distribution List
References
Aakra K, Hauge E (2003) Checklist of Norwegian spiders (Arachnida: Araneae), including Svalbard and Jan Mayen. Norwegian Journal of Entomology 50: 109-129 
Azheganova N S (1968) Kratkii opredelitel' paukov (Aranei) lesnoi i lesostepnoi zony SSSR. Akademia Nauk SSSR, 149pp.
Blagoev G, Deltshev C, Lazarov S, Naumova M (2018) The spiders (Araneae) of Bulgaria. Version: August 2018. National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Online at http://www.nmnhs.com/spiders-bulgaria/ (accessed on 10.9.2018)
Branco V V, Morano E, Cardoso P (2019) An update to the Iberian spider checklist (Araneae). [N.B.: few records from this paper are not taken over and not commented] Zootaxa 4614: 201-254
Breitling R (2020) South European spiders from the Duffey collection in the Manchester Museum (Arachnida: Araneae). Arachnology 18: 333-362
Cera I (2018) The checklist of Latvian spiders (Arachnida: Araneae). Environmental and Experimental Biology 16: 139-152
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Grasshoff M (1968) Morphologische Kriterien als Ausdruck von Artgrenzen bei Radnetzspinnen der Subfamilie Araneinae (Arachnida: Araneae: Araneidae). Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft 516: 1-100
Heimer S, Nentwig W (1991) Spinnen Mitteleuropas. Paul Parey Berlin
Ivanov V V (2013) The checklist of Belarusian spiders (Arachnida, Araneae). Zoology and Ecology 4: 293-311
Koponen S, Fritzén N R, Pajunen T (2016) Checklist of spiders in Finland (Araneae). 6th version, December 2016, online at http://biolcoll.utu.fi/arach/checklist_of_spiders_in_Finland.htm
Kostanjšek R, Kuntner M (2015) Araneae Sloveniae: a national spider species checklist. ZooKeys 474: 1-91
Kreuels M, Staudt A, Christian S (2019) Die Spinnenfauna von Luxemburg – eine Zusammenstellung der Nachweise aus den Jahren 1906-2018 (Arachnida: Araneae). Bulletin de la Société des naturalistes luxembourgeois 121: 203-230
Kronestedt T (2001) Checklist of Spiders (Araneae) in Sweden [Preliminary version February 2001]
Locket G H, Millidge A F (1953) British spiders. Vol. II. Ray Society, London, 449 pp.
Loksa I (1972) Pokok II-Araneae II. Fauna Hungariae 109: 1-112
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Pantini P, Sassu A, Serra G (2013) Catalogue of the spiders (Arachnida Araneae) of Sardinia. Biodiversity Journal 4: 3-104
Pfliegler W A, Schönhofer A, Niedbała W, Vella P, Sciberras A, Vella A (2017) New records of mites (Acari) and harvestmen (Opiliones) from Malta with a preliminary checklist of Maltese Arachnida. Soil Organisms 89: 85-110
Polchaninova N, Prokopenko E (2019) An updated checklist of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Left-Bank Ukraine. Arachnologische Mitteilungen 57: 60-64 & App
Roberts M J (1995) Collins Field Guide: Spiders of Britain & Northern Europe. HarperCollins, London, 383 pp.
Samu F, Szinetár C (1999) Bibliographic check list of the Hungarian spider fauna. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 11: 161-184
Stanković M, Ćurĉić M (2020) New species in the arachnofauna of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the protected habitat of Gromiţelj, Velino Selo. Archives for Technical Sciences 22: 67-78
Wiehle H (1931) Spinnentiere oder Arachnoidea, VI. 27: Familie Araneidae. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands 23: 47-136
WSC (2021) World Spider Catalog. Version 21.5. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch (03.01.2021) doi: 10.24436/2