Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Metepeira desenderi Baert, 1987

araña, Orb-weaver spider

Bound to the Littoral zone (mangrove), the coastal Arid zone with dry season deciduous woods (Bursera graveolens). One catch was done in the Scalesia forest at 570 m alt. on Santa Cruz.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Arachnida

Order
Araneae

Superfamily
Araneoidea

Family
Araneidae

Genus
Metepeira

Species
desenderi

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Endemic

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Distribution: Only known from Galápagos. Galápagos distribution: Daphne, Española, Fernandina, Floreana, Gardner nr Española, Genovesa, Isabela (Sierra Negra, V. Alcedo, V. Darwin, V. Wolf), Marchena, N. Plaza, Pinta, Pinzón, Rábida, San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, Santa Fé, Santiago, Seymour Norte, S. Plaza.

References

  • Baert, L.L. Malfait, J.-P., Hendrickx, F. & Desender, K. (2008) Distribution and Habitat Preference of the Spiders (Araneae) of Galápagos. Bull. Inst. R. Sci. Nat. Belg. Entomol. 78: 39-111.
  • Baert, L.L. (1987) Spiders of the Galápagos Islands. Part 4. Miscellaneous Families 2. Bull. Inst. R. Sci. Nat. Belg. Entomol. 57: 141-155.
  • Baert, L.L. Maelfait, J.-P. & Desender, K. (1989) Results of the Belgian 1986-expedition: Araneae, and Provisional Checklist of the Spiders of the Galápagos Archipelago. Bull. Inst. R. Sci. Nat. Belg. Entomol. 58: 29-54.
  • Baert, L.L. Maelfait, J.-P. (2000) Check List of the Described Spider Species of the Galápagos Archipelago (Araneae). Bull. Inst. R. Sci. Nat. Belg. Entomol. 70: 243-245.
  • Baert, L.L. Maelfait, J.P. & Desender, K. (1989) Results of the Belgian 1988-expedition to the Galápagos Islands: Araneae. Bull. Inst. R. Sci. Nat. Belg. Entomol. 59: 5-22.
  • Buchholz, S. Baert, L., Rodríguez, J., E Causton, C., & Jäger, H. (2020) Spiders in Galapagos–diversity, biogeography and origin. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 130(1), 41-48.
  • Baert, L. Jean-Pierre Maelfait, Konjev Desender, Frederik Hendrickx (2023) Updated checklist, origin, distribution, literature and genital drawings of the spiders of the Galápagos Islands Belgian Journal of Entomology 142: 1–188.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Metepeira desenderi", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=6631. Accessed 29 June 2025.