Gasteracantha quadrispinosa

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.[4]

Gasteracantha quadrispinosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
Genus: Gasteracantha
Species:
G. quadrispinosa
Binomial name
Gasteracantha quadrispinosa
O. Pickard Cambridge, 1879[1]

Description

Female four-spined jewel spiders are distinctively shaped and coloured. Their abdomens are flat, oblong, and curved slightly forward, 5-6 mm wide, excluding spines. The corners of the abdomen are armed with short spines, the rear pair slightly longer than the pair in front. Unlike most members of its genus, G. quadrispinosa lacks a third pair of spines on the hind margin of its abdomen, so it is four spined or quadrispinose. The hard, shiny upper surface of the abdomen ranges from red to yellow in colour and is marked with a black spot and dark sigilla.[2][5]

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References
  1. "Gasteracantha quadrispinosa". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  2. Atkinson, Ron. "Four-spined jewel spider". The Find-a-spider Guide. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  3. Dahl, F. (1914). "Die Gasteracanthen des Berliner Zoologischen Museums und deren geographische Verbreitung". Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin. 7: 270.
  4. Chew, Peter. "Four-spined Jewel Spider - Gasteracantha quadrispinosa". Brisbane Insects and Spiders. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  5. Pickard-Cambridge, O. (1879). "On some new and little known species of Araneidea, with remarks on the genus Gasteracantha". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 47 (2): 281–282. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1879.tb02656.x.
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