''Caerostris sexcuspidata'', also known as the common bark spider, is a species of spider that occurs in

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

, and on islands off the east coast of Africa, such as

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, the

Comores The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. I ...

and

Aldabra Island Aldabra is the world's second-largest coral atoll, lying south-east of the continent of Africa. It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, with a distance of 1,120 k ...

. It is a mainly nocturnal orb-web spider, the female constructing a large orb web stretching between trees or shrubs. During daylight hours she dismantles her web and retires to a nearby branch, tucking her legs, which are covered with fine hair, against her body, to blend with the surroundings to resemble part of a branch, complete with growth bulges. Though mainly nocturnal, these spiders may be found on their webs in shady, forested areas during the day. The dorsal surface is cryptically coloured with horny projections which aid in camouflage; legs are drably coloured seen from above and clearly zebra-striped when viewed from beneath. The common bark spider is the most widespread of the bark spiders found in Southern Africa and shows considerable variation in abdomen shape. The abdomen protrudes over the carapace, while the eight small eyes are located on a tubercle at the front of the carapace.

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{{Taxonbar, from=Q4282254 Spiders of Africa sexcuspidata Spiders described in 1793