''Phrynarachne ceylonica'', the bird dung spider, is a species of
spiders of the family
Thomisidae. It is found in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
,
Taiwan, and
India. The species is known to discharge a foul smell which help it attract prey and deter predators. It both smells like and resembles bird feces, hence the name 'bird dung spider'. The bird dung spider resembles bird feces only when it curls up in response to a predatory threat. It is characteristically known for its dual-purposed ability to mimic the smell and appearance of bird feces to both lure prey and protect against predators.
This species of crab spider has a flat, black-brown abdomen with bright yellow legs.
The width of the female abdomen is approximately 9.3 mm and the length of the body is approximately 14.5 mm.
References
Thomisidae
Spiders of Asia
Spiders described in 1884
Taxa named by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge
{{Thomisidae-stub