Diaea ambara

Diaea ambara is a species of crab spider that is endemic to New Zealand.[1]

Diaea ambara
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Thomisidae
Genus: Diaea
Species:
D. ambara
Binomial name
Diaea ambara
(Urquhart, 1885)
Synonyms

Philodromus ambarus

Taxonomy

Diaea ambara was first described in 1885 by Arthur Urquhart as Philodromus ambarus.[2] P. ambarus was later moved to the Diaea genus and redescribed as D. ambara.[2]

Description

Females are about 6mm in length. Cephalothorax is golden brown, abdomen is tan with faint markings. However, colour is very variable and is assumed to aid camouflage.[1][3]

Behaviour

Diaea ambara are ambush predators that typically hunt on the leaves of bushes and trees.[3]

Males search for the female to begin courtship. The male will approach from the side and use his front legs to touch the females front legs and then her body while she retracts her legs and crouches. The male then proceeds to lash the female down with silk and crawls underneath her and commences mating. After mating, the male leaves and the female easily gets free of the silk.[4]

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References
  1. Bryant, E. B. (1933b). Notes on types of Urquhart's spiders. Records of the Canterbury Museum 4: 1-27.
  2. Urquhart, A. T. (1885). On the spiders of New Zealand. Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 17: 31-53.
  3. "Crab Spider (Diaea ambara)".
  4. Forster, Ray (1999). Spiders of New Zealand and Their World Wide Kin. Otago University Press. p. 100.
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