Thelacantha

Thelacantha is a genus of orb-weaver spiders containing the single species, Thelacantha brevispina. It was first described by A. W. M. van Hasselt in 1882,[2] and has been found in Australia, Madagascar, and across southern Asia from India to Philippines, including Japan.[3][1] It has also been introduced into Hawaii.[4] T. brevispina is closely related those in the genus Gasteracantha, and was briefly synonymized with it in 1859,[5] but revalidated in 1974.[6] Saito described three other Thelacantha species in 1933,[7] which were later synonymized with T. brevispina.[1]

Thelacantha
T. brevispina, female from Taiwan
T. brevispina, male from Japan
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
Genus: Thelacantha
Hasselt, 1882[1]
Species:
T. brevispina
Binomial name
Thelacantha brevispina
(Doleschall, 1857)

Description

Females grow to about 6 to 10 millimetres (0.24 to 0.39 in) long, while males reach a size of 3 to 5 millimetres (0.12 to 0.20 in).[3] Females have six abdominal spines ending in distinct sharp points. Most have two large white spots on the upper surface of their abdomens, which are otherwise mottled with black, brown, and white patterns.[4]

Large female T. brevispina from Hilo, Hawai'i ('Akaka Falls region)

Taxonomy

T. brevispina has often been misidentified as Gasteracantha mammosa, which is now G. cancriformis. It has gone through a checkered name history, with many synonyms:[1]

  • Plectana brevispina Doleschall, 1857
  • Plectana roseolimbata Doleschall, 1859
  • Plectana flavida Doleschall, 1859
  • Gasteracantha mammeata Thorell, 1859
  • Gasteracantha guttata Thorell, 1859
  • Gasteracantha borbonica Vinson, 1863
  • Gasteracantha alba Vinson, 1863
  • Gasteracantha canningensis Stoliczka, 1869
  • Gasteracantha suminata L. Koch, 1871
  • Gasteracantha mastoidea L. Koch, 1872
  • Stanneoclavis suminata (Karsch, 1878)
  • Stanneoclavis mastoidea (Karsch, 1878)
  • Actinacantha maculata Karsch, 1878
  • Gasteracantha brevispina (Thorell, 1878)
  • Gasteracantha observatrix O. P.-Cambridge, 1879
  • Gasteracantha mammosa Hasselt, 1882
  • Gasteracantha flavida (Hasselt, 1882)
  • Stanneoclavis latronum Simon, 1890
  • Gasteracantha sola Saito, 1933
  • Gasteracantha sparsa Saito, 1933
  • Gasteracantha formosana Saito, 1933
  • Thelacantha brevispina (Benoit, 1964)
  • Diversity of females from Japan
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See also

References
  1. "Gen. Thelacantha Hasselt, 1882". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. 2019. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  2. Hasselt, A. W. M. van (1882), "Araneae", in Veth, P. J. (ed.), Midden-Sumatra 4A(11), doi:10.5962/bhl.title.119451
  3. Murphy, Frances & Murphy, John (2000). An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Nature Society.
  4. Yates III, Julian R. "Spiny-Backed Spiders". Knowledge Master. University of Hawaiʻi. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  5. Thorell, T. (1859). "Nya exotiska Epeirider". Öfversigt af Kongliga Vetenskaps-Akademiens Förhandlingar. 16.
  6. Emerit, M. (1974). "Arachnides araignées Araneidae Gasteracanthinae". Faune Madagascar. 38: 57.
  7. Saitō, S. (1933). "Notes on the spiders from Formosa". Transactions of the Sapporo Natural History Society. 13: 56–58.
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