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Palystes Crawshayi
''Palystes'' is a genus of huntsman spiders, commonly called rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders, occurring in Africa, India, Australia, and the Pacific. The most common and widespread species is '' P. superciliosus'', found in South Africa, home to 12 species in the genus. The name ''Palystes'' is derived from either the Latin ''palaestes'' or the Greek ''palaistes'', meaning "wrestler". The genus was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1875. Build ''Palystes'' species are large spiders, with a body length of 15–36 mm, and a leg span up to 110 mm. Their top side is covered in tan to dark tan velvety setae (hairs). The underside of their legs is banded in colour, and their legs and abdomens may be interspersed with slightly longer setae. They have a large moustachial stripe below their front eyes, and extending down their fangs. Habits While ''Palystes'' species mostly hunt insects on plants, they commonly enter houses before rain, or during the summer, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palystes Castaneus
''Palystes castaneus'' is a species of huntsman spider found in parts of South Africa. It is common from Cape Town to Heidelberg, Western Cape, especially in forested areas. In scrub outside forested areas, it is replaced by ''Palystes superciliosus''. It occurs mainly on plants, where it hunts insects. It has a body length of 17–22 mm. ''P. castaneus'' is the type species for the genus ''Palystes'', and was first described by Pierre André Latreille in 1819. Spiders in the genus ''Palystes'' are commonly called rain spiders, or lizard-eating spiders. ''P. castaneus'' often appears in the home just before the onset of rain, where they hunt geckos (usually '' Afrogecko porphyreus''). Males are regularly seen from August to December, probably looking for females. After mating in the early summer, the female constructs a round egg sac about 60–100 mm in size made of silk, with twigs and leaves woven into it. These egg sacs are commonly seen from about November to Apri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
