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Genus of spiders From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cyclosa, also called trashline orbweavers,[2] is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Anton Menge in 1866.[3] Widely distributed worldwide, spiders of the genus Cyclosa build relatively small orb webs with a web decoration. The web decoration in Cyclosa spiders is often linear and includes prey remains and other debris, which probably serve to camouflage the spider. The name "Cyclosa" comes from Greek 'to move in a circle', referring to how it spins its web.[2]
Cyclosa | |
---|---|
Camouflaged Cyclosa octotuberculata | |
Cyclosa insulana | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
Class: | Arachnida |
Order: | Araneae |
Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
Family: | Araneidae |
Genus: | Cyclosa Menge, 1866 |
Type species | |
C. conica (Pallas, 1772) | |
Species | |
180, see text | |
Synonyms[1] | |
|
While most orb-web spiders face downwards in their web when waiting for prey, some Cyclosa species (e.g. C. ginnaga and C. argenteoalba) face upwards.[4]
Cyclosa argenteoalba builds two types of web, a traditional sticky spider web, and a resting web that consists of just a few strands. When infected with a larva of the wasp Reclinervellus nielseni, the spider switches on the behavior to build a resting web.[5] The larva then eats the spider and uses the web to complete metamorphosis.[6]
C. mulmeinensis, found on Orchid Island off the southeast coast of Taiwan, makes web decorations similar in size and appearance to itself that act as decoys to distract predatory wasps.[7]
One small species from Guyana described under the nomen dubium C. tremula has a black and white pattern and rests in the center of an orb web with greyish "imitation spiders" it has created from prey remains. If the spider is disturbed, it vibrates its body, so that the black and white patches blur into grey, thus resembling false spiders.[8]
C. turbinata are known for creating orb-shaped webs, which are webs that utilize both sticky and non-sticky threads, mostly during times of complete darkness. Cyclosa turbinata is unique in that across its spiral wheel-shaped web, it also creates the so-called "trashline" web, which is a line of various components such as prey carcasses, detritus, and, at times, egg cases. This trashline appears to hinder predators from visually locating the spider within its web.[citation needed]
As of April 2019[update] it contains 180 species:[1]
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