Poltys (spider)

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Poltys
Tailed Spider (Poltys mouhoti) (8756802709).jpg
Poltys mouhoti
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Araneidae
Genus: Poltys
C. L. Koch, 1843 [1]
Type species
P. illepidus
C. L. Koch, 1843
Species

43, see text

Poltys is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by C. L. Koch in 1843. [2] Many species are cryptic and are known to masquerade as leaves and twigs during the day, [3] and build an orb web at night to capture prey. The shape of the abdomen which often gives the impression of a rough and broken branch can vary among individuals within a species. [4] The web is eaten up before dawn and reconstructed after dusk. [5]

Species

As of April 2019 it contains forty-three species: [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 Gloor, Daniel; Nentwig, Wolfgang; Blick, Theo; Kropf, Christian (2019). "Gen. Poltys C. L. Koch, 1843". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2 . Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  2. Koch, C. L. (1843). Die Arachniden.
  3. Kuntner, Matjaž; Gregorič, Matjaž; Cheng, Ren-Chung; Li, Daiqin (2016). "Leaf masquerade in an orb web spider" (PDF). Journal of Arachnology. 44 (3): 397. doi:10.1636/JoA-S-16-027.1. S2CID   52997204.
  4. Smith, Helen M. (2003). "Shape variation in Australian Poltys species (Araneae: Araneidae)" (PDF). Bull. Br. Arachnol. Soc. 12 (8): 355–360.
  5. Smith, Helen M (2009). "The costs of moving for a diurnally cryptic araneid spider". Journal of Arachnology. 37: 84–91. doi:10.1636/ST07-62.1. S2CID   85938546.