Kingdom Animalia Class Arachnida Suborder Araneomorphae Rank Genus | Phylum Arthropoda Order Araneae Family Thomisidae | |
Similar Camaricus, Phrynarachne, Epicadus, Pharta | ||
Platythomisus octomaculatus
Platythomisus is a genus of flattened crab spiders (family Thomisidae) from Africa and Southern Asia.
Contents
All species are only known from females or juveniles, with the exception of P. jucundus, where only the male is known.
Description
Females reach a body length of about 20 mm, males grow up to four mm. The smooth, convex cephalothorax is quite large, with smooth, slender legs that are not particularly long. The legs are often free of spines, with the occasional exception on the first two pairs. The opisthosoma is stout and oval.
P. octomaculatus has a yellow-orange color with four round, black marks on the cephalothorax and seven large black marks on the opisthosoma, with one spot near the cephalothorax, and the other six following behind in two longitudinal rows. The legs are of a bright yellow, with the outer halves black.
Biology
P. octomaculatus is a rather rare species. One of the plants it has been found on is the yellow Hibiscus tiliaceus. In captivity it was observed to feed on bees.
Name
The genus name is combined from Ancient Greek platys "flat" and the name of the crab spider genus Thomisus.