Caerostris corticosa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bare-legged Bark Spider | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Caerostris |
| Species: | C. corticosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Caerostris corticosa | |
| Synonyms | |
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Caerostris corticosa is a species of spider in the family Araneidae.[2] It is endemic to southern Africa and is commonly known as the bare-legged bark spider.[3]
Habitat and ecology
The species constructs webs between shrubs and trees, usually at sunset. The spider hangs head-down in the middle of the orb web. During the day, the spiders rest on thick branches close to the attachment lines of their webs, and their brown or grey colouration provides effective camouflage on bark and lichens.[3]
Description
The female is recognized by the ventral surface of the abdomen being black or with two white spots, the sternum covered with dense white setae, and the posterior side of the femur IV bearing slender undifferentiated hairs. The species closely resembles Caerostris sexcuspidata in colour and general characters.[3]
