Cyrtarachne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cyrtarachne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| female Cyrtarachne inaequalis from Okinawa. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Subfamily: | Cyrtarachninae s.l. |
| Genus: | Cyrtarachne Thorell, 1868[1] |
| Type species | |
| C. grubei (Keyserling, 1864) | |
| Species | |
|
54, see text | |
Cyrtarachne is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1868.[2]
Cyrtarachne construct “spanning thread-webs”, a basic orb-web, but the web diameter, sticky spiral spacing and viscid thread diameter differ from that of typical orb-webs.[3]
The viscid threads are studded with large droplets. Each of the short threads between the radii is known as a spanning thread, and is unique in that it breaks when prey comes into contact with it. The prey flies into the web, gets stuck to a viscid thread, the thread breaks, and the spider pulls the prey up to the hub of the web to feed. During the day the spider rests on close-by vegetation mimicking bird-droppings.[3]
