Gasteracantha cancriformis
Encyclopedia
Gasteracantha cancriformis (the crab spider, spiny-backed orbweaver, spiny orbweaver spider, crab-like orbweaver spider, crab-like spiny orbweaver spider, jewel spider, spiny-bellied orbweaver, jewel box spider or smiley face spider) is a species
of spider
.
Females are 5–9 mm (0.196850393700787–0.354330708661417 ) long and 10 millimetre wide. The six abdominal spine-like projections on the abdomen are characteristic. The carapace
, legs and underside are black with white spots under the abdomen. Variations occur in the colour of the upperside of the abdomen with black spots on white to yellow ground colour and red spines or yellow instead of white. Spines are sometimes black. Like in many other spiders, males are much smaller (2 to 3 mm long) and longer than wide. They are similar to the females in colour but have a gray abdomen with white spots and the spines are reduced to four or five stubby projections.
It is found across the southern part of the United States from California to Florida
, as well as in Central America
, Jamaica
, Cuba
, Dominican Republic
, South America and certain islands in the Bahamas. It has also been sighted in the Whitsunday Islands, Australia
and Palawan, Philippines
.
It lives in woodland edges and shrubby gardens. Many of the studies on this spider have taken place in citrus groves in Florida. They frequently live in trees or around trees in shrubs.
This species of spider
does not live very long. In fact, the lifespan only lasts until reproduction, which usually takes place the spring following the winter when they hatched. Females die after producing an egg mass, and males die six days after a complete cycle of sperm induction to the female.
The genus name Gasteracantha derives from the Greek words (, "belly") and (, "thorn"), while the specific epithet cancriformis derives from the Latin
words ("crab
") and ("shape, form, appearance").
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
.
Females are 5–9 mm (0.196850393700787–0.354330708661417 ) long and 10 millimetre wide. The six abdominal spine-like projections on the abdomen are characteristic. The carapace
Carapace
A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...
, legs and underside are black with white spots under the abdomen. Variations occur in the colour of the upperside of the abdomen with black spots on white to yellow ground colour and red spines or yellow instead of white. Spines are sometimes black. Like in many other spiders, males are much smaller (2 to 3 mm long) and longer than wide. They are similar to the females in colour but have a gray abdomen with white spots and the spines are reduced to four or five stubby projections.
It is found across the southern part of the United States from California to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, as well as in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, South America and certain islands in the Bahamas. It has also been sighted in the Whitsunday Islands, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Palawan, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
It lives in woodland edges and shrubby gardens. Many of the studies on this spider have taken place in citrus groves in Florida. They frequently live in trees or around trees in shrubs.
This species of spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
does not live very long. In fact, the lifespan only lasts until reproduction, which usually takes place the spring following the winter when they hatched. Females die after producing an egg mass, and males die six days after a complete cycle of sperm induction to the female.
The genus name Gasteracantha derives from the Greek words (, "belly") and (, "thorn"), while the specific epithet cancriformis derives from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
words ("crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
") and ("shape, form, appearance").
Synonyms
G. cancriformis has also been described under a number of taxonomic synonyms:- Aranea cancriformis
- Aranea tetracantha
- Aranea conchata
- Aranea hexacantha
- Epeira lata
- Epeira servillei
- Acrosoma hexacantha
- Gasteracantha hexacantha
- Gasteracantha velaris
- Plectana cancriformis
- Plectana hexacantha
- Plectana elipsoides
- Plectana quinqueserrata
- Plectana sexserrata
- Plectana triserrata
- Plectana servillei
- Plectana lata
- Plectana atlantica
- Gasteracantha rubiginosa
- Gasteracantha picea
- Gasteracantha mammosa
- Gasteracantha quadridens
- Gasteracantha pallida
- Epeira cancer
- Gasteracantha moesta
- Gasteracantha insulana
- Gasteracantha hilaris
- Gasteracantha columbiae
- Gasteracantha kochii
- Dicantha lata
- Micrathena triserrata
- Gasteracantha oldendorffii
- Gasteracantha canestrinii
- Gasteracantha callida
- Gasteracantha raimondii
- Gasteracantha proboscidea
- Gasteracantha rufospinosa
- Gasteracantha maura
- Gasteracantha elliptica
- Gasteracantha preciosa
- Gasteracantha biolleyi
- Gasteracantha mascula
- Gasteracantha comstocki
- Vibradellus carolinus
- Gasteracantha elipsoides
Further reading
- Eberhard, William G. (2006): Stabilimenta of Philoponella vicinaPhiloponella vicinaPhiloponella vicina is a kind of spider than does not use venom, but instead wraps its prey in hundreds of meters of spider silk to crush it to death...
(Araneae: Uloboridae) and Gasteracantha cancriformis (Araneae: Araneidae): Evidence Against a Prey Attractant Function. Biotropica 39(2): 216-220.