Gasteracantha hasselti
Encyclopedia
Gasteracantha hasselti, commonly known as Hasselt's spiny spider is a species of spider
belonging to the family Araneidae. It is a native of Asia
, occurring from India
eastwards to Indonesia
.
Typically of this genus, the male of this species is small and rather nondescript but the female is rather larger and very colourful. She is usually around 8 mm in length (excluding legs). The carapace
has a dense covering of white hairs. The abdomen
is roughly triangular and bright orange with 12 black spots arranged in two rows along the back and six black spikes around the margin, the two at the rear corners being much the longest, straight and pointed.
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
belonging to the family Araneidae. It is a native of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, occurring from India
India
India , 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...
eastwards to Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
Typically of this genus, the male of this species is small and rather nondescript but the female is rather larger and very colourful. She is usually around 8 mm in length (excluding legs). The carapace
Carapace
A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...
has a dense covering of white hairs. The abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
is roughly triangular and bright orange with 12 black spots arranged in two rows along the back and six black spikes around the margin, the two at the rear corners being much the longest, straight and pointed.