Lynx spider (Oxyopidae) is a family of

araneomorph The Araneomorphae (also called the Labidognatha) are an infraorder of spiders. They are distinguishable by chelicerae (fangs) that point diagonally forward and cross in a pinching action, in contrast to the Mygalomorphae (tarantulas and their ...

spiders first described by

Tamerlan Thorell Tord Tamerlan Teodor Thorell (3 May 1830 – 22 December 1901) was a Swedish arachnologist. Thorell studied spiders with Giacomo Doria at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale de Genoa. He corresponded with other arachnologists, such as Octaviu ...

in 1870. Most species make little use of webs, instead spending their lives as hunting spiders on plants. Many species frequent flowers in particular, ambushing pollinators, much as

crab spider 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 thi ...

s do. They tend to tolerate members of their own species more than most spiders do, and at least one species has been identified as exhibiting social behaviour.

Description

There are several

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

of Oxyopidae and they differ in their habits and adaptations. Most of them have large spiny bristles on their legs and in many species the bristles form almost a basket-like structure that may assist in confining the prey that they grasp, and protect the spider from its struggles. Most ''

Oxyopes ''Oxyopes'' is a genus of lynx spiders found worldwide. It includes arounds 300 species and is classified under the lynx spider family Oxyopidae. Like other lynx spiders, they are easily recognizable by the six larger eyes arranged hexagonally ...

'' and ''

Hamataliwa ''Hamataliwa'' is a genus of lynx spiders that was first described by Eugen von Keyserling in 1887. Species it contains eighty-three species, found in the Caribbean, Asia, Central America, Africa, North America, Australia, Paraguay, Brazil, ...

'' species are small to medium in size. Lynx spiders, in spite of being largely ambush hunters, are very speedy runners and leapers, alert and with good vision. Oxyopidae in general rely on keen eyesight in stalking, chasing, or ambushing prey, and also in avoiding enemies.

Identification

As with many other families of spiders, the arrangement of their eyes is typical of the family and is an important aid in identifying them as members of the family. Six of the eight eyes of Oxyopid spiders are arranged in a hexagon-like pattern, more or less on a prominent hump on the front upper corner 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 ...

. The other two eyes are smaller, less conspicuous, and generally are situated in front of and below the other six. The basal parts of the

chelicerae The chelicerae () are the mouthparts of the subphylum Chelicerata, an arthropod group that includes arachnids, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. Commonly referred to as " jaws", chelicerae may be shaped as either articulated fangs, or similarl ...

of most species are large, vertical and parallel, which combine with the bluff front end, a "high forehead" to the prosoma, to give most species a peculiar "flat-faced" appearance.

Hunting

They tend to be drab ambush hunters, depending to some extent on the season, some occupy flowers, ambushing pollinating insects. In this they resemble the crab spiders (''

Thomisidae 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 ...

'') in behaviour. Others crouch in wait, camouflaged on plant stalks or bark. ''

Peucetia ''Peucetia'' is a genus of lynx spiders that is found worldwide. While ''P. viridana'' is found only in Asia, the similar named ''P. viridans'' ( Green Lynx Spider) occurs only from the southern United States to Venezuela. The only ''Peuceti ...

'' species on the other hand, commonly are larger. They are rangy and their camouflage is vivid green, adapted to hunting or hiding among foliage.

Behavior

Except when defending egg purses, many tend to flee rapidly when approached by predators or large creatures such as humans. They tend not to be very aggressive towards other members of their own species, and sometimes meet casually in small groups. Possibly as an extreme example, at least one member of the genus ''

Tapinillus ''Tapinillus'' is a genus of lynx spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1898. it contains only three species, found only in South America, Panama, and Costa Rica: '' T. longipes'', '' T. purpuratus'', and '' T. roseister ...

'' is remarkable as being one of the few

social spider A social spider is a spider species whose individuals form relatively long-lasting aggregations. Whereas most spiders are solitary and even aggressive toward other members of their own species, some hundreds of species in several families show a ...

s, living in colonies with communal feeding, cooperative brood care, and generational overlap. '' Peucetia viridans'' is unusual among spiders in that females defending their egg purses will spray or "spit" venom at intruders, including humans.

Benefits

Some members of the genus ''Oxyopes'' are abundant enough to be important in agricultural systems as biological control agents. This is especially true of the striped lynx spider (''

Oxyopes salticus ''Oxyopes salticus'' is a species of lynx spider, commonly known as the striped lynx spider, first described by Hentz in 1845. Its habitat tends to be grasses and leafy vegetation; grassy, weedy fields, and row crops.Brady 1964 Description Adul ...

''). Their net value in agriculture has been disputed however, on the grounds of their predation of pollinators.

Genera

Genera common in the United States include common lynx spiders and green lynx spiders. , the

World Spider Catalog The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...

accepts the following genera: *'' Hamadruas'' Deeleman-Reinhold, 2009 — Asia *''

'' Keyserling, 1887 — South America, North America, Central America, Asia, Australia, Africa, Caribbean *'' Hostus'' Simon, 1898 — Madagascar *''

'' Latreille, 1804 — Africa, North America, South America, Oceania, Asia, Central America, Caribbean, Italy *''

'' Thorell, 1869 — Asia, Australia, Europe, South America, Africa, United States, Panama *'' Pseudohostus'' Rainbow, 1915 — Australia *'' Schaenicoscelis'' Simon, 1898 — Brazil, Guyana *''

'' Simon, 1898 — Brazil *'' Tapponia'' Simon, 1885 — Malaysia, Indonesia

Gallery

File:Orange striped lynx spider.JPG, ''Oxyopes quadrifasciatus'' are member of the family Oxyopidae. Photo taken in

Dahod Dahod is a city on the banks of the Dudhimati River in Dahod District in the State of Gujarat, India. It is said that it has taken its name from Saint Dadhichi, who had an Ashram on the bank of Dudhumati river. The city serves as District ...

. Image:Orange_striped_lynx_spider_from_dahod_by_pratik_jain.jpg, Lynx spider, Dahod File:Lynx spider - Oxyopes sp.jpg, ''Oxyopes sp.'' Image:Lynx Spider by Nabarun.jpg, Lynx spider,

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. File:Oxyopes sp predating on a diptera.JPG, Lynx spider preying on a housefly File:Oxyopes salticus, male, PEM.jpg, Male ''Oxyopes salticus'', 4 mm. North Carolina. File:The Frangipani Murder.jpg, The lynx spider, ''Oxyopes'' species with prey at Dehra Dun, India File:Oxyopes scalaris, Western Lynx Spider, Kern 2017-04-04.jpg, ''Oxyopes scalaris'', Western Lynx Spider

References

External links

Lynx Spider large format photographs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynx Spider *