Cyrtophora
Genus of spiders From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Genus of spiders From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Cyrtophora, the tent-web spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1895.[2] Although they are in the "orb weaver" family, they do not build orb webs. Their tent-like, highly complex non-sticky web is sometimes considered a precursor of the simplified orb web. These webs are aligned horizontally, with a network of supporting threads above them. These spiders often live in colonies. Females have a body length of mostly about 10 millimetres (0.39 in) long. Some members, including Cyrtophora cicatrosa, exhibit the ability to change colour rapidly.[3]
| Tent-web spider | |
|---|---|
| |
| Green tent-web spider | |
 | |
| Cyrtophora moluccensis suspended beneath its web | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Subfamily: | Cyrtophorinae |
| Genus: | Cyrtophora Simon, 1864 |
| Type species | |
| C. citricola (Forsskål, 1775) | |
| Species | |
|
53, see text | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
A kleptoparasitic spider (Argyrodes fissifrons) was found to live in a mutualistic relationships with Cyrtophora species.[4][5] Some of the species are considered social spiders, building large structures where the territories of the offspring are built along the margin of the mothers web.[6]
As of April 2019[update] it contains fifty-three species:[1]
