The giant golden orb-weaving spider, Nephila pilipes (Fabricius, 1793), is notable for its color polymorphism. Here, we report the pattern polymorphism of this species. A Nephila species with unusual abdominal patterning from the Philippines is confirmed herein as N. pilipes based on its somatic structures and genitalia. The abdominal pattern consists of rows of subquadrate yellow spots on the dorsum, which is distinct from the typical longitudinal yellow stripes in N. pilipes. We provided the distribution of the spotted variant based on citizen science data on the internet, suggesting that this particular variation may be regionally endemic in the Philippines. Keywords: aposematism, arachnids, citizen science, intraspecific variation, Nephilinae.
Acuña, Darrell & Maglangit, Erl Pfian & Santiago, Myla & Guevarra Jr, Leonardo. (2025). Abdominal pattern polymorphism and distribution of the giant golden orb-weaving spider, Nephila pilipes (Fabricius, 1793) (Araneae: Araneidae), in the Philippines. Philippine Journal of Systematic Biology. 18. AZ-BB. 10.26757/pjsb202418006.
