Gea (spider)
Genus of spiders
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gea is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by C. L. Koch in 1843.[2]
| Gea Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| |
| female Gea spinipes Khao Yai National Park, Thailand | |
 | |
| female Gea heptagon, USA | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Gea C. L. Koch, 1843[1] |
| Type species | |
| G. spinipes C. L. Koch, 1843 | |
| Species | |
|
13, see text | |
Distribution
Description
The total length of spiders in this genus ranges from 4-6 mm in females and 3-4.5 mm in males.[3]
Gea differs from Argiope in having evenly spaced anterior eyes, and it differs from most araneid genera by having a strongly procurved posterior eye row and a low thoracic region of the carapace.[3]
Gea specimens are smaller than Argiope and possess larger posterior median eyes. In females, the eyes of the posterior eye row are almost equally spaced, whereas in Argiope, the median eyes are positioned closer to each other than to the lateral eyes.[3]
The abdomen is shield-shaped with lobes on the sides, and the coloration of the abdomen is variable, potentially featuring transverse lines or a dark folium. Another distinguishing character that separates Gea from other genera is the modified first tibia of the male, which is curved and armed with macro-setae.[3]
Ecology and behavior
According to Simon (1895), they do not make a stabilimentum, but it has been observed in the webs of some species.[3]
Gea theridioides, adult female with stabilimentum (Royal Park, Melbourne/VIC, Australia; © André Walter).
Gea theridioides, adult female with stabilimentum (Euroa/VIC, Australia; © André Walter).
Species
G. bituberculata
female G. infuscata
female G. theridioides
As of September 2025[update], this genus includes thirteen species:[1]
- Gea africana Simon, 1895 – DR Congo
- Gea argiopides Strand, 1911 – Indonesia (Aru Is.), Papua New Guinea
- Gea bituberculata (Thorell, 1881) – Indonesia (New Guinea)
- Gea eff Levi, 1983 – Papua New Guinea
- Gea heptagon (Hentz, 1850) – Pacific Islands, Australia. Introduced to United States, Argentina
- Gea infuscata Tullgren, 1910 – Sudan, Tanzania, Angola, Botswana, South Africa
- Gea jingdong Mi, Wang & Gan, 2024 – China
- Gea nilotica Simon, 1906 – Sudan
- Gea spinipes C. L. Koch, 1843 – Pakistan, India, Myanmar, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia (Sumatra, Borneo) (type species)
- Gea subarmata Thorell, 1890 – India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Japan (Ryukyu Is.), Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia (Borneo), Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, New Guinea)
- Gea theridioides (L. Koch, 1872) – Australia (Queensland, New South Wales)
- Gea transversovittata Tullgren, 1910 – Congo, Tanzania
- Gea zaragosa Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – India, Philippines
