Leviaraneus viridiventris

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Leviaraneus viridiventris is a small green orb-weaving spider found in East and South Asia, including Japan, China, Taiwan, and India. It belongs to the family Araneidae and the genus Leviaraneus.

Taxonomy and naming history
The species was first described in 1969 by Takeo Yaginuma as Araneus viridiventris, based on specimens from the Goto Islands in Japan. In 2023, Akio Tanikawa and Booppa Petcharad moved it to the newly created genus Leviaraneus after studying its physical features and performing molecular analysis using five gene sequences.

Where it’s found
In Japan it has been found from Tokyo to Kagoshima, including the Ryukyu Islands. It is also recorded in China, Taiwan, and India.

What it looks like
Leviaraneus viridiventris is a small spider. Males are about 3.08–3.44 mm long, females about 3.88–5.44 mm. The cephalothorax (the front body part) is brown and pear-shaped. The abdomen is a uniform yellowish-green color in life, without markings, and it looks freshly green when alive but fades to grayish white when preserved. This green abdomen helps distinguish it from a closely related species, Leviaraneus noegeatus.

Male and female differences
- Males have a distinct trait on their mating organ (the pedipalp): a single long bristle on the patella and an elongated, S-shaped embolus that is wrapped by the conductor.
- Females lack a scape on the epigyne (the external part of the female reproductive system), and their spermathecae are almost touching.

Webs
This spider builds typical orb webs, and it has been observed making large horizontal orb webs.