Gasteracantha hasselti

Taxobox
name = "Gasteracantha hasselti"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Arachnida
ordo = Araneae
familia = Araneidae
genus = "Gasteracantha"
species = "G. hasselti"
binomial = "Gasteracantha hasselti"
binomial_authority = C. L. Koch, 1837

"Gasteracantha hasselti", commonly known as Hasselt's spiny spider is a species of spider belonging to the family Araneidae. It is a native of Asia, occurring from India eastwards to Indonesia.

Typically of this genus, the male of this species is small and rather nondescript but the female is rather larger and very colourful. She is usually around 8 mm in length (excluding legs). The carapace has a dense covering of white hairs. The abdomen is roughly triangular and bright orange with 12 black spots arranged in two rows along the back and six black spikes around the margin, the two at the rear corners being much the longest, straight and pointed.

References