''Eustala anastera'', the humpbacked orbweaver, is a species of orb weaver in the family
Araneidae
Orb-weaver spiders are members of the spider family Araneidae. They are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields, and forests. The English word "orb" can mean "circular", hence the English name ...
.
It is found in North and Central America.
[Dean DA (2016). "Catalogue of Texas spiders". ''ZooKeys 570'': 1-703.]
Description
Females of this species grow to 10mm, males growing to 9.5mm. The coloration of the prosoma
The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...
is quite variable in color, though it usually matches that of the opisthosoma
The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma (cephalothorax). It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata (arachnids, horseshoe crabs and others). Although it is similar in most respects to a ...
. The coloration can vary from tones of tan, to vivid green. Some have a dark line along the median, as the one pictured, and many have a foliate pattern. The legs are also quite variable, and are covered in short spines, which are most notable in males.
Subspecies
* ''Eustala anastera anastera'' (Walckenaer, 1841)
* ''Eustala anastera vermiformis'' Franganillo, 1931
References
* Bradley, Richard A. (2012). ''Common Spiders of North America''. University of California Press.
* Breene, R. G., D. Allen Dean, G. B. Edwards, Blain Hebert, Herbert W. Levi, Gail Manning, et al. (2003). ''Common Names of Arachnids, Fifth Edition'', 42.
* Ubick, Darrell (2005). ''Spiders of North America: An Identification Manual''. American Arachnological Society.
Araneidae
Spiders described in 1841
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