''Gasteracantha'' is a genus of
orb-weaver spiders first named by
Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1833.
Species of the genus are known as spiny-backed orb-weavers, spiny orb-weavers, or spiny spiders. The females of most species are brightly colored with six prominent spines on their broad, hardened, shell-like abdomens. The name ''Gasteracantha'' is derived from the
Greek (), meaning "belly, abdomen", and (), meaning "thorn, spine".
Spiny-backed orb-weavers are sometimes colloquially called "crab spiders" because of their shape, but they are not closely related to the true
crab spiders
The Thomisidae are a family of spiders, including about 170 genera and over 2,100 species. The common name crab spider is often linked to species in this family, but is also applied loosely to many other families of spiders. Many members of th ...
.
Other colloquial names for certain species include thorn spider,
star spider,
kite spider Kite spider refers to one of the following genera:
* ''Gasteracantha'', the spiny orb-weavers or kite spiders
* ''Isoxya'', the box kite spiders
{{Animal common name
Set index articles on spiders