Twig Spider

Description:

Arachnida; Araneae; Araneidae; Poltys; Poltys elevatus Thorell, 1890. "Poltys is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by C. L. Koch in 1843. Many species are cryptic and are known to masquerade as leaves and twigs during the day, and build an orb web at night to capture prey. The shape of the abdomen which often gives the impression of a rough and broken branch can vary among individuals within a species. The web is eaten up before dawn and reconstructed after dusk." Wikipedia.

Habitat:

I spotted this very strange spider on the underside of a leaf of a Citrus maximus sapling in a big plant pot in our front yard.

Notes:

I want to express my thanks to Ranger Mark Ridgeway for directing me to the amazing pictures of Poltys elevatus by Albert Kang on jungledragon. For me, this is yet another example of how everything comes together so well when people really help each other. You don't see the conversation through "comments" here because I was asking Mark for his help on this spider during back-and-forth comments on a different spotting (Uloborus plumipes), I must just add that all this help was given very late at night here in Philippines. I have not checked but I am sure it was well after midnight in the part of Australia where Mark lives !!