Cyclosa
| Cyclosa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| camouflaged C. octotuberculata | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Suborder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Cyclosa Menge, 1866 |
| Species | |
|
C. conica | |
| Diversity | |
| 165 species | |
Cyclosa is a spider genus in the family Araneidae. Spiders of the genus Cyclosa build relatively small orb webs with a web decoration. The web decoration in Cyclosa spiders is often linear and includes prey remains and other debris, which probably serve to camouflage the spider. While most orb-web spiders face downwards in their web when waiting for prey, some Cyclosa species (e.g. C. ginnaga and C. argenteoalba) face upwards [1]
One small species from Guyana (described under the nomen dubium C. tremula) has a striking black and white pattern and rests in the center of an orb web with greyish "imitation spiders" it has created from prey remains. If the spider is disturbed, it vibrates its body, so that the black and white patches blur into grey, thus resembling the false spiders.[2]
References
- ↑ Nakata, Kensuke; Zschokke, Samuel (2010). "Upside-down spiders build upside-down orb webs: web asymmetry, spider orientation and running speed in Cyclosa". Proceedings of the Royal Society B (Royal Society) 277 (1696): 3019–3025. doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.0729.
- ↑ Oxford, G.S. & Gillespie, R.G. (1998). Evolution and Ecology of Spider Coloration. Annual Review of Entomology 43:619-643. doi:10.1146/annurev.ento.43.1.619 PMID 15012400
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