Platythomisus
Encyclopedia
Platythomisus is a genus
of flattened crab spider
s (family Thomisidae) from Africa
and Southern Asia.
All species are only known from females or juveniles, with the exception of P. jucundus, where only the male is known.
is quite large, with smooth, slender legs that are not particularly long. The legs are often free of spines, with the occasional exception on the first two pairs. The opisthosoma
is stout and oval.
P. octomaculatus has a yellow-orange color with four round, black marks on the cephalothorax and seven large black marks on the opisthosoma, with one spot near the cephalothorax, and the other six following behing in two longitudinal rows. The legs are of a bright yellow, with the outer halves black.
s.
platys "flat" and the name of the crab spider genus Thomisus
.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flattened crab spider
Crab spider
Crab spider is a common name applied loosely to many species of spiders, but most nearly consistently to members of the family Thomisidae...
s (family Thomisidae) from Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Southern Asia.
All species are only known from females or juveniles, with the exception of P. jucundus, where only the male is known.
Description
Females reach a body length of about 20 mm, males grow up to four mm. The smooth, convex cephalothoraxCephalothorax
The cephalothorax is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. The word cephalothorax is derived from the Greek words for head and thorax...
is quite large, with smooth, slender legs that are not particularly long. The legs are often free of spines, with the occasional exception on the first two pairs. The opisthosoma
Opisthosoma
The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma . It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata...
is stout and oval.
P. octomaculatus has a yellow-orange color with four round, black marks on the cephalothorax and seven large black marks on the opisthosoma, with one spot near the cephalothorax, and the other six following behing in two longitudinal rows. The legs are of a bright yellow, with the outer halves black.
Biology
P. octomaculatus is a rather rare species. One of the plants it has been found on is the yellow Hibiscus tiliaceus. In captivity it was observed to feed on beeBee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s.
Name
The genus name is combined from Ancient GreekAncient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
platys "flat" and the name of the crab spider genus Thomisus
Thomisus
Thomisus is a genus of crab spiders with more than 100 species described. The genus includes species that vary widely in their ecology, but the best known crab spiders are those species that people call the flower crab spiders, because they are ambush predators that feed on insects visiting flowers...
.
Species
- Platythomisus bazarus Tikader, 1970 — IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
- Platythomisus deserticola Lawrence, 1936 — Southern AfricaSouthern AfricaSouthern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
- Platythomisus heraldicus KarschFriedrich KarschFerdinand Karsch or Karsch-Haack was a German arachnologist, entomologist and anthropologist....
, 1878 — East AfricaEast AfricaEast Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, ZanzibarZanzibarZanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba... - Platythomisus insignis PocockReginald Innes PocockReginald Innes Pocock F.R.S. was a British zoologist.Pocock was born in Clifton, Bristol, the fourth son of Rev. Nicholas Pocock and Edith Prichard. He began showing interest in natural history at St. Edward's School, Oxford. He received tutoring in zoology from Sir Edward Poulton, and was allowed...
, 1899 — Equatorial GuineaEquatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...
, CongoDemocratic Republic of the CongoThe Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world... - Platythomisus jubbi Lawrence, 1968 — South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
- Platythomisus jucundus Thorell, 1894 — JavaJavaJava is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
- Platythomisus nigriceps Pocock, 1899 — Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast
- Platythomisus octomaculatus (C. L. Koch, 1845) — SumatraSumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, Java - Platythomisus pantherinus Pocock, 1898 — MalawiMalawiThe Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
- Platythomisus quadrimaculatus Hasselt, 1882 — Sumatra
- Platythomisus scytodimorphus (Karsch, 1886) — East Africa
- Platythomisus sexmaculatus SimonEugène SimonEugène Simon was a French arachnologist. His many taxonomic contributions include categorizing and naming many spiders, as well as creating genera such as Anelosimus, Psellocoptus and Phlogius....
, 1897 — SomaliaSomaliaSomalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory... - Platythomisus sibayius Lawrence, 1968 — South Africa
- Platythomisus sudeepi Biswas, 1977 — India
