Arthropoda

Class:
Arachnida
Order:
Araneae
Family:
Araneidae
Genus:
Gasteracantha
Species:
G. cancriformis
Binomial name
Gasteracantha cancriformis
(Linnaeus , 1758)
Gasteracantha cancriformis (the star spider , spiny-backed
orbweaver , spiny orbweaver spider , crab-like orbweaver
spider , crab-like spiny orbweaver spider , jewel spider ,
spiny-bellied orbweaver , jewel box spider or smiley face
spider ) is a species of spider .
Females are 59 millimetres (0.200.35 in) long and 10
13 mm (0.390.51 in) wide. The six abdominal spine-like
projections on the abdomen are characteristic. The
carapace , legs and underside are black with white spots
under the abdomen. Variations occur in the colour of the
upperside of the abdomen: a white or yellow colour with
both featuring black spots. A white upperside can have
either red or black spines while a yellow upperside can only
have black ones. Like in many other spiders, males are
much smaller (2 to 3 mm long) and longer than wide. They
are similar to the females in colour but have a gray
abdomen with white spots and the spines are reduced to
four or five stubby projections.
It is found across the southern part of the United States
from California to Florida, as well as in Central America ,
Jamaica , Cuba , Dominican Republic, Bermuda , Puerto Rico,
South America and certain islands in the Bahamas . It has
also been sighted in the Whitsunday Islands, Australia ,
South Africa and Palawan, Philippines, as well as Kauai in
the Hawaiian Islands and the Antilles.
It lives in woodland edges and shrubby gardens. Many of
the studies on this spider have taken place in citrus groves
in Florida. They frequently live in trees or around trees in
shrubs.
This species of spider does not live very long. In fact, the
lifespan only lasts until reproduction, which usually takes
place the spring following the winter when they hatched.
Females die after producing an egg mass, and males die six
days after a complete cycle of sperm induction to the
female.
Gasteracantha cancriformis in Miami
The genus name Gasteracantha derives from the Greek
words (gaster , "belly") and (acantha , "thorn")
, while the specific epithet cancriformis derives from the
Latin words cancer (" crab") and forma ("shape, form,
appearance").
Close Up Of Spiny Orb Weaver Spider Eating a Butterfly
Synonyms
Gasteracantha cancriformis mating in the Summer
G. cancriformis has also been described under a number of
taxonomic synonyms:
Aranea cancriformis
Aranea tetracantha
Aranea conchata
Aranea hexacantha
Epeira lata
Epeira servillei
Acrosoma hexacantha
Gasteracantha hexacantha
Gasteracantha velaris
Plectana cancriformis
Plectana hexacantha
Plectana elipsoides
Plectana quinqueserrata
Plectana sexserrata
Plectana triserrata
Plectana servillei
Plectana lata
Plectana atlantica
Gasteracantha rubiginosa
Gasteracantha picea
Gasteracantha mammosa
Gasteracantha quadridens
Gasteracantha pallida
Epeira cancer
Gasteracantha moesta
Gasteracantha insulana
Gasteracantha hilaris
Gasteracantha columbiae
Gasteracantha kochii
Dicantha lata
Micrathena triserrata
Gasteracantha oldendorffii
Gasteracantha canestrinii
Gasteracantha callida
Gasteracantha raimondii
Gasteracantha proboscidea
Gasteracantha rufospinosa
Gasteracantha maura
Gasteracantha elliptica
Gasteracantha preciosa
Gasteracantha biolleyi
Gasteracantha mascula
Gasteracantha comstocki
Vibradellus carolinus
Gasteracantha elipsoides