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Bird-dung crab spider

Phrynarachne sp.

Description:

My 150th spotting :) I am a pathfinder now :) Had an amazing ride in Noah :) The body markings and texture of this spider provide some camouflage by mimicking the appearance of bird dung. This species of spider weaves simple inverted triangle shaped webs across plant leaves and stems. When a fly lands on the web, the line it is stuck to breaks at the outer end and falls, leaving the victim to hang vertically from the mid-line of the web.

Habitat:

Bird dung crab spiders recognized under the genus Phrynarachne are very rare in the group...Only 30 species are recognized as such spiders out of 41.253 species of spiders known globally. In India, they are known by only two endemic species namely P. tuberosa and P. peeliana

Notes:

It sometimes sits on a small patch of white silk, which can be mistaken for the white stain caused by the bird-dung when it is splashed on the leaf. Some Phyrnarachne spiders emit a pronounced smell of faeces or urine. The sight and smell of bird-dropping may be a clever device to attract and ambush flies.

2 Species ID Suggestions

vipin.baliga
vipin.baliga 10 years ago
Bird Dung Crab Spider
Thomisidae Bird Dung Crab Spider [PIC]


Sign in to suggest organism ID

90 Comments (1–25)

Adarsha B S
Adarsha B S 10 years ago

Thank you so much Yasser :)

Yasser
Yasser 10 years ago

Really love this spotting Adarsha. What an awesome spider! :)

Adarsha B S
Adarsha B S 10 years ago

Thank you Vasudha :)

vasudha
vasudha 10 years ago

Belated congratulations Adarsha. Deserves SOTD. Good mimic :)

Adarsha B S
Adarsha B S 10 years ago

Thank you Oneng :) This was very special for me too :)
My first SOTD :)

OnengDyah
OnengDyah 10 years ago

Amazing spider..I never seen it before...wonderful pic Bro...:)

Adarsha B S
Adarsha B S 10 years ago

Thank you Antonio :)

Great capture Adarsha,congrats on the well deserved SOTD and thanks for sharing

Adarsha B S
Adarsha B S 10 years ago

Thank you so much sunnyjosef :)

Adarsha B S
Adarsha B S 10 years ago

Thank you so much Jakubo :)

Jacob Gorneau
Jacob Gorneau 10 years ago

And congratulations on 150 spottings, too!

Jacob Gorneau
Jacob Gorneau 10 years ago

Belated congratulations on spotting of the day! Splendid series of an amazing spider!

Adarsha B S
Adarsha B S 10 years ago

Thank you so much Billo :)

sunnyjosef
sunnyjosef 10 years ago

Congrats to you Adarsha.... Super find this...

Billo-kun
Billo-kun 10 years ago

Awesome! my friend congratulations! :)

Adarsha B S
Adarsha B S 10 years ago

Thank you so much Rajesh! feeling awesome to get this reward :)

rajestmohit12
rajestmohit12 10 years ago

great one adarsha. congrats...

Adarsha B S
Adarsha B S 10 years ago

Thank you so much Ramya !

Adarsha B S
Adarsha B S 10 years ago

Thank you so much Tiz :)
I am glad to spot this on 150 th (Though i waited till 150th to post to post this)..
I got some excellent fellows in my native during this week trip to my village...
All are coming soon :)

Tiz
Tiz 10 years ago

A big congratulations for this fantastic spotting and the Pathfinder patch! Beautiful pictures and an interesting specimen! I think this spotting made many people more qurious about all the mimicking animals out there! I am looking forward to see more spottings from you and India :)
Tina

ramyabharatha123
ramyabharatha123 10 years ago

Congratulations Adarsha....
Very well deserved sotd...

Adarsha B S
Adarsha B S 10 years ago

Thank you so much Larry and Maria :)
It's mimic is fascinating :)

LarryGraziano
LarryGraziano 10 years ago

Lovely find, great info, well deserved SOTD¡ Congrats Adarsha¡

Maria dB
Maria dB 10 years ago

Congratulations, Adarsha! It is an interesting spider - nice find!

Adarsha B S
Adarsha B S 10 years ago

And thank you so much Carol and Sergio :) I m glad you loved it :)
(Comments are scrambled i guess) :P

Adarsha B S
Spotted by
Adarsha B S

Ripponpet, Karnataka, India

Spotted on Jul 1, 2013
Submitted on Jul 11, 2013

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