Thelacantha
Sign in to saveThelacantha (Asian spinybacked orbweaver) is a genus of orb-weaver spiders containing the single species, Thelacantha brevispina. It was first described by in 1882, and has been found in Australia, Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia, as well as parts of Japan. It has also been introduced into Hawaii. T. brevispina is closely related to those in the genus Gasteracantha and was briefly synonymized with it in 1859, but revalidated in 1974. Saito described three other Thelacantha species in 1933, which were later synonymized with T. brevispina.
Taxonomy · GBIF
Asian Spinybacked Orbweaver
GENUS
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumArthropoda
- ClassArachnida
- OrderAraneae
- FamilyAraneidae
Observations3,899
Grouparachnida
via GBIF · iNaturalist · CC0
Article
4 sectionsContents
- Description
- Taxonomy
- See also
- References
Thelacantha (Asian spinybacked orbweaver) is a genus of orb-weaver spiders containing the single species, Thelacantha brevispina. It was first described by in 1882, and has been found in Australia, Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia, as well as parts of Japan. It has also been introduced into Hawaii. T. brevispina is closely related to those in the genus Gasteracantha and was briefly synonymized with it in 1859, but revalidated in 1974. Saito described three other Thelacantha species in 1933, which were later synonymized with T. brevispina.
==Description== Females grow to about long, while males reach a size of . 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.