Poltys (spider)
Genus of spiders
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Poltys is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by C. L. Koch in 1843.[2] Many species are cryptic and are known to masquerade as leaves and twigs during the day,[3] with the shape of the abdomen giving it the impression of a rough and broken branch, and the shape can vary among individuals within a species, promoting crypsis.[4] As an orb-weaver, these spiders build an orb web at night to capture prey; the web is eaten up before dawn and reconstructed after dusk.[5]
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| Poltys | |
|---|---|
| |
| Poltys mouhoti | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Poltys C. L. Koch, 1843[1] |
| Type species | |
| Poltys illepidus C. L. Koch, 1843 | |
| Species | |
|
43, see text | |
Description
Poltys is a rather distinctive araneid genus that can be recognised by a combination of widely separated lateral eyes and a pear-shaped carapace, where the "stalk" of the pear is an eye tubercle present as a frontally elevated projection.[6]
The median ocular quadrangle is as long as it is wide, the lateral eyes are widely separated and the median eyes are situated anterior on eye tubercles. Legs I and II are long with flat curved and spinulose tibiae and metatarsi. The large abdomen is anteriorly elevated and bears irregular tubercles.[6]
Species
Poltys sp. from India
female P. columnaris
P. furcifer
Poltys sp. from India
P. laciniosus from Australia
P. laciniosus
Poltys sp. from India
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As of September 2025[update] it contains 42 described species:[1]
African species:
- Poltys baculiger Simon, 1907 – Gabon
- Poltys caelatus Simon, 1907 – Sierra Leone, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe
- Poltys corticosus Pocock, 1898 – Kenya
- Poltys fornicatus Simon, 1907 – São Tomé and Príncipe
- Poltys furcifer Simon, 1881 – Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa
- Poltys monstrosus Simon, 1897 – Sierra Leone
Indo-Pacific species:
- Poltys acuminatus Thorell, 1898 – Myanmar
- Poltys apiculatus Thorell, 1892 – Singapore
- Poltys bhabanii (Tikader, 1970) – India
- Poltys bhavnagarensis Patel, 1988 – India
- Poltys columnaris Thorell, 1890 – India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia (Sumatra), Japan
- Poltys dubius (Walckenaer, 1841) – Vietnam
- Poltys elevatus Thorell, 1890 – Indonesia (Sumatra)
- Poltys ellipticus Han, Zhang & Zhu, 2010 – China
- Poltys frenchi Hogg, 1899 – New Guinea, Indonesia (Moluccas), Australia (Queensland)
- Poltys grayi Smith, 2006 – Australia (Lord Howe Is.)
- Poltys hainanensis Han, Zhang & Zhu, 2010 – China
- Poltys horridus Locket, 1980 – Comoros, Seychelles
- Poltys idae (Ausserer, 1871) – China, Borneo
- Poltys illepidus C. L. Koch, 1843 (type) – Thailand to Australia (mainland, Lord Howe Is., Norfolk Is.)
- Poltys jujorum Smith, 2006 – Australia (Queensland)
- Poltys kochi Keyserling, 1864 – Mauritius, Madagascar
- Poltys laciniosus Keyserling, 1886 – Australia
- Poltys longitergus Hogg, 1919 – Indonesia (Sumatra)
- Poltys milledgei Smith, 2006 – Australia (Western Australia, Northern Territory), Indonesia (Bali, Sumbawa)
- Poltys mouhoti (Günther, 1862) – Vietnam
- Poltys nagpurensis Tikader, 1982 – Iran, India
- Poltys nigrinus Saito, 1933 – Taiwan
- Poltys noblei Smith, 2006 – Australia (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria)
- Poltys pannuceus Thorell, 1895 – Myanmar
- Poltys pogonias Thorell, 1891 – India (Nicobar Is.)
- Poltys pygmaeus Han, Zhang & Zhu, 2010 – China
- Poltys raphanus Thorell, 1898 – Myanmar
- Poltys reuteri Lenz, 1886 – Madagascar
- Poltys squarrosus Thorell, 1898 – Myanmar
- Poltys stygius Thorell, 1898 – Myanmar to Australia (Queensland)
- Poltys timmeh Smith, 2006 – New Caledonia, Loyalty Is.
- Poltys turriger Simon, 1897 – Vietnam
- Poltys turritus Thorell, 1898 – Myanmar
- Poltys unguifer Simon, 1909 – Vietnam
- Poltys vesicularis Simon, 1889 – Madagascar
- Poltys waipo Mi, Wang & Li, 2024 – China
Unnamed species of leaf mimic, southwest China and Vietnam.[7][8]
