ARANEUS SPIDER
ARANEUS SPIDER Araneus is a genus of common orb-weaving spiders. It includes about 650 species, among which are the European Garden Spider and the Barn Spider. Their bite is of no medical significance to human beings. Araneus was originally called Epeira . The latter name is now considered a junior synonym of Araneus . It was first coined by Charles Athanase Walckenaer in 1805 for a range of spiders now considered Araneidae (orb-weavers) . Over the time, a rather diverse set of spiders was grouped under the genus Epeira , including species from the modern families Araneidae, Mimetidae, Tetragnathidae, Theridiidae, Theridiosomatidae , Titanoecidae ( Nurscia albomaculata and Uloboridae. Epeira was synonymized with the genus Aranea by Leach, 1815, and with Araneus by Simon, 1904.