Gea spinipes

The female was originally described by Koch in 1843 from specimens collected in the East Indies. The prosoma is dark ocher-yellow with lighter ocher-yellow legs that have black spiny setae. The opisthosoma is slender and brownish in color. The body length measures approximately 2.25 inches (about 6 cm) according to Koch's original description.^[2]

Modern descriptions of females show a total length of 3.65–6.90 mm. The carapace is yellow with inconspicuous dark patches and measures about 2.05 mm long and 1.60 mm wide. The abdomen is shield-shaped and darker than the carapace, typically with two white spots at the front. The epigyne is distinctive, being about 1.3 times wider than long with a clear central dividing structure separating two depressions.^[3]

The male of G. spinipes was first described by van Hasselt in 1882 under the name Pronous chelifer.^[4] Males are smaller than females, with a total length of 3.25–4.00 mm. The carapace is yellow and measures about 1.95 mm long and 1.70 mm wide. The abdomen is shield-shaped, approximately 1.54 times longer than wide, and dark with two white spots at the front. The legs are yellow to yellowish-brown, with the third and fourth pairs showing dark bands.^[3]

The male pedipalp has several distinctive features including a finger-like structure and a prominent, twisted embolus that makes approximately one complete turn.^[3]

Gea spinipes has a complex taxonomic history with several synonyms.^[5] The species was first described by C. L. Koch in 1843, but over the following decades, several other species were described that were later found to be the same species.^[5] In 1983, Herbert Levi conducted a comprehensive revision and synonymized Argiope chelifera Thorell, 1890, Gea decorata Thorell, 1890, Gea festiva Thorell, 1895, and Gea festiva nigrifrons Simon, 1901 with G. spinipes.^[5]

Recent studies suggest that G. spinipes as currently understood may represent a species complex, as specimens from different geographical locations show variations in genital structures.^[3]