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Gasteracantha is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first named by Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1833. [2] Species of the genus are known as spiny-backed orb-weavers, spiny orb-weavers, or spiny spiders. The females of most species are brightly colored with six prominent spines on their broad, hardened, shell-like abdomens.
Gasteracantha cancriformis [2] (spinybacked orbweaver) is a species of orb-weaver spider (family Araneidae). It is widely distributed in the New World. [1]The genus name Gasteracantha derives from the Greek words γαστήρ (gaster, "belly") and ἄκανθα (acantha, "thorn"), while the specific epithet cancriformis derives from the Latin words cancer ("crab") and forma ("shape, form ...
The female of the species is characterized by having a highly sclerotized "spiny" abdomen, which is a common feature of the genus. Females also have varying numbers of sigillae in both dorsal and ventral abdominal surfaces. Males are somewhat smaller than females and with lesser coloration and abdominal spines. [3]
Gasteracantha westringi is a species of spiny orb-weaver spider in the genus Gasteracantha. [1] It is found in Australasia , including New Caledonia and Norfolk Island , and it has a wing-shaped abdomen armed with red and black spines.
Female G. hecata orb-weavers have hard, shiny yellow-and-black abdomens that are about twice as wide as long and armed with two pairs of spines. The anterior pair is tiny and sharply pointed, but the second pair is long, horn-like, and covered with short bristles.
Gasteracantha quadrispinosa, the four-spined jewel spider, is a brightly coloured species of spider in the spiny orb-weaver genus Gasteracantha. [2] It occurs in wet forests of Queensland, Australia, and New Guinea, [1] [3] where it builds vertical orb webs approximately 1.5 m across and hangs in the centre of the web to wait for prey.
Micrathena, known as spiny orbweavers, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1833. [5] [6] Micrathena contains more than a hundred species, most of them Neotropical woodland-dwelling species. The name is derived from the Greek "micro", meaning "small", and the goddess Athena. [7]
Gasteracantha versicolor, known as the long-winged kite spider, [citation needed] is a species of diurnal spiny orb-weaver of the family Araneidae. It is found in the tropics and sub-tropics, where it occurs in forests. It has an extensive range, from central, east and southern Africa to Madagascar.