Spiny orb-weaver

Spiny orb-weavers
G. cancriformis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Family:	Araneidae
Genus:	Gasteracantha Sundevall, 1833
Species
see text
Diversity
69 species

Spiny orb-weavers is a common name for Gasteracantha, a genus of spiders. They are also commonly called Spiny-backed orb-weavers, due to the prominent spines on their abdomen (cf. genus Isoxya). These spiders can reach sizes of up to 30mm in diameter (measured from spike to spike). Although their shell is shaped like a crab shell with spikes, it is not to be confused with a crab spider.

Orb-weavers' bites are generally harmless to humans.

Gasteracantha geminata

Species

• Gasteracantha aciculata (Pocock, 1899) — New Britain
• Gasteracantha acutispina Dahl, 1914 — Sulawesi
• Gasteracantha arcuata (Fabricus, 1793) - India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, East Malaysia
• Gasteracantha audouini Guérin, 1838 — Sumatra, Timor, Amboina, Philippines
• Gasteracantha beccarii Thorell, 1877 — Sulawesi
• Gasteracantha biloba (Thorell, 1878) — Moluccas, Amboina
• Gasteracantha cancriformis — New World
  • Gasteracantha cancriformis gertschi Archer, 1941 — USA
• Gasteracantha clarki Emerit, 1974 — Seychelles
• Gasteracantha clavatrix (Walckenaer, 1842) — Lombok, Sulawesi, Mentawai Islands
• Gasteracantha clavigera Giebel, 1863 — Thailand, Philippines, Sulawesi
• Gasteracantha crucigera Bradley, 1877 — New Guinea
• Gasteracantha curvispina (Guérin, 1837) — West, Central Africa, Bioko
• Gasteracantha curvistyla Dahl, 1914 — Togian Islands, near Sulawesi
• Gasteracantha cuspidata C. L. Koch, 1837 — Malaysia, Nicobar Islands, Java
• Gasteracantha dalyi Pocock, 1900 — India, Pakistan
• Gasteracantha diadesmia Thorell, 1887 — India to Philippines
• Gasteracantha diardi (Lucas, 1835) — China, Thailand, Malaysia, Sunda Islands
• Gasteracantha doriae Simon, 1877 — Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo
• Gasteracantha falcicornis — Africa
• Gasteracantha fasciata Guérin, 1838 — New Guinea, Guam
• Gasteracantha flava Nicolet, 1849 — Chile
• Gasteracantha fornicata — Queensland, Australia
• Gasteracantha frontata Blackwall, 1864 — India, Myanmar, Thailand, Flores, Borneo
• Gasteracantha gambeyi Simon, 1877 — New Caledonia
• Gasteracantha geminata (Fabricius, 1798) — India, Sri Lanka
• Gasteracantha hasselti — India, China to Moluccas
• Gasteracantha hecata (Walckenaer, 1842) — Philippines
• Gasteracantha interrupta Dahl, 1914 — Lombok, Sulawesi
• Gasteracantha irradiata (Walckenaer, 1842) — Thailand to Philippines, Sulawesi
• Gasteracantha janopol Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 — Philippines
• Gasteracantha kuhli C. L. Koch, 1837 — India to Japan, Philippines
• Gasteracantha lepelletieri (Guérin, 1825) — Sumatra to Philippines, New Guinea
• Gasteracantha lunata Guérin, 1838 — Timor, Moluccas, New Caledonia
• Gasteracantha martensi Dahl, 1914 — Sumatra
• Gasteracantha mediofusca (Doleschall, 1859) — Java, New Guinea
• Gasteracantha mengei Keyserling, 1864 — Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo
• Gasteracantha metallica (Pocock, 1898) — Solomon Islands
• Gasteracantha milvoides Butler, 1873 — Central, East, Southern Africa
• Gasteracantha notata Kulczynski, 1910 — New Britain
• Gasteracantha panisicca Butler, 1873 — Myanmar to Philippines, Java
• Gasteracantha parangdiadesmia Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 — Philippines
• Gasteracantha pentagona (Walckenaer, 1842) — New Ireland, New Britain
  • Gasteracantha pentagona anirica Strand, 1915 — Bismarck Archipel
• Gasteracantha picta (Thorell, 1892) — Singapore
• Gasteracantha quadrispinosa O. P.-Cambridge, 1879 — New Guinea, Queensland
• Gasteracantha recurva Simon, 1877 — Philippines
• Gasteracantha regalis Butler, 1873 — New Hebrides
• Gasteracantha remifera Butler, 1873 — India, Sri Lanka
• Gasteracantha rhomboidea Guérin, 1838 — Mauritius (= G. mauritia)
  • Gasteracantha rhomboidea comorensis Strand, 1917 — Comoro Islands
  • Gasteracantha rhomboidea madagascariensis Vinson, 1863 — Madagascar
• Gasteracantha rubrospinis Guérin, 1838 — Lombok, Sulawesi, Moluccas, New Caledonia, Guam
• Gasteracantha rufithorax Simon, 1881 — Madagascar
• Gasteracantha sacerdotalis L. Koch, 1872 — New Guinea, Queensland, New Caledonia
• Gasteracantha sanguinea Dahl, 1914 — Philippines
• Gasteracantha sanguinolenta C. L. Koch, 1844 — Africa, São Tomé, Yemen, Socotra
  • Gasteracantha sanguinolenta andrefanae Emerit, 1974 — Madagascar
  • Gasteracantha sanguinolenta bigoti Emerit, 1974 — Madagascar
  • Gasteracantha sanguinolenta emeriti Roberts, 1983 — Aldabra
  • Gasteracantha sanguinolenta insulicola Emerit, 1974 — Seychelles
  • Gasteracantha sanguinolenta legendrei Emerit, 1974 — Europa Islands
  • Gasteracantha sanguinolenta mangrovae Emerit, 1974 — Madagascar
  • Gasteracantha sanguinolenta rueppelli (Strand, 1916) — Egypt
• Gasteracantha sapperi Dahl, 1914 — New Guinea
• Gasteracantha sauteri Dahl, 1914 — China, Taiwan
• Gasteracantha scintillans Butler, 1873 — Solomon Islands
• Gasteracantha signifera Pocock, 1898 — Solomon Islands
  • Gasteracantha signifera bistrigella Strand, 1915 — Bismarck Archipel
  • Gasteracantha signifera heterospina Strand, 1915 — Bismarck Archipel
  • Gasteracantha signifera pustulinota Strand, 1915 — Bismarck Archipel
• Gasteracantha simoni O. P.-Cambridge, 1879 — Central Africa
• Gasteracantha sororna Butler, 1873 — India
• Gasteracantha sturi — Sumatra, Java, Moluccas
• Gasteracantha subaequispina Dahl, 1914 — Borneo, New Guinea
• Gasteracantha taeniata (Walckenaer, 1842) — India to Polynesia
  • Gasteracantha taeniata analispina Strand, 1911 — New Guinea
  • Gasteracantha taeniata anirensis Strand, 1911 — New Ireland
  • Gasteracantha taeniata bawensis Strand, 1915 — New Guinea
  • Gasteracantha taeniata jamurensis Strand, 1915 — New Guinea
  • Gasteracantha taeniata lugubris Simon, 1898 — Solomon Islands
  • Gasteracantha taeniata maculella Strand, 1911 — Aru Islands
  • Gasteracantha taeniata novahannoveriana Dahl, 1914 — Bismarck Archipel
  • Gasteracantha taeniata obsoletopicta Strand, 1915 — Indonesia
  • Gasteracantha taeniata oinokensis Strand, 1915 — New Guinea
  • Gasteracantha taeniata sentanensis Strand, 1915 — New Guinea
  • Gasteracantha taeniata trivittinota Strand, 1911 — New Ireland
  • Gasteracantha taeniata univittinota Strand, 1911 — New Ireland
• Gasteracantha theisi Guérin, 1838 — New Guinea, Moluccas
  • Gasteracantha theisii antemaculata Strand, 1911 — Aru Islands
  • Gasteracantha theisii keyana Strand, 1911 — Kei Islands
  • Gasteracantha theisii quadrisignatella Strand, 1911 — Indonesia
• Gasteracantha thomasinsulae Archer, 1951 — São Tomé
• Gasteracantha thorelli Keyserling, 1864 — Madagascar
• Gasteracantha tondanae Pocock, 1897 — Sulawesi
• Gasteracantha transversa C. L. Koch, 1837 — Sumatra, Java
• Gasteracantha unguifera Simon, 1889 — India
• Gasteracantha versicolor (Walckenaer, 1842) — Central, East, Southern Africa
  • Gasteracantha versicolor avaratrae Emerit, 1974 — Madagascar
  • Gasteracantha versicolor formosa Vinson, 1863 — Madagascar
• Gasteracantha westringi Keyserling, 1864 — Australia, Admiralty Islands, New Caledonia

References

• Platnick, Norman I. (2009): The world spider catalog, version 10.0. American Museum of Natural History.

External links

• Video of a spiny orbweaver's heart beating

Media related to Gasteracantha at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Gasteracantha at Wikispecies