Poltys (spider)

Poltys is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by C. L. Koch in 1843.^[2] Many species are cryptic and are known to masquerade as leaves and twigs during the day,^[3] with the shape of the abdomen giving it the impression of a rough and broken branch, and the shape can vary among individuals within a species, promoting crypsis.^[4]

P. laciniosus

Poltys
Poltys mouhoti
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Araneidae
Genus:	Poltys C. L. Koch, 1843[1]
Type species
Poltys illepidus C. L. Koch, 1843
Species
43, see text

As an orb-weaver, these spiders build an orb web at night to capture prey; the web is eaten up before dawn and reconstructed after dusk.^[5]

Description

See also: Glossary of spider terms

Poltys sp. from India

Poltys is a rather distinctive araneid genus that can be recognised by a combination of widely separated lateral eyes and a pear-shaped carapace, where the "stalk" of the pear is an eye tubercle present as a frontally elevated projection.^[6]

The median ocular quadrangle is as long as it is wide, the lateral eyes are widely separated and the median eyes are situated anterior on eye tubercles. Legs I and II are long with flat curved and spinulose tibiae and metatarsi. The large abdomen is anteriorly elevated and bears irregular tubercles.^[6]

Species

• 
  Poltys sp. from India
• 
  female P. columnaris
• 
  P. furcifer
• 
  Poltys sp. from India
• 
  P. laciniosus from Australia

As of September 2025^[update] it contains 42 species:^[1]

African species:

• Poltys baculiger Simon, 1907 – Gabon
• Poltys caelatus Simon, 1907 – Sierra Leone, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe
• Poltys corticosus Pocock, 1898 – Kenya
• Poltys fornicatus Simon, 1907 – São Tomé and Príncipe
• Poltys furcifer Simon, 1881 – Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa
• Poltys monstrosus Simon, 1897 – Sierra Leone

Indo-Pacific species:

• Poltys acuminatus Thorell, 1898 – Myanmar
• Poltys apiculatus Thorell, 1892 – Singapore
• Poltys bhabanii (Tikader, 1970) – India
• Poltys bhavnagarensis Patel, 1988 – India
• Poltys columnaris Thorell, 1890 – India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia (Sumatra), Japan
• Poltys dubius (Walckenaer, 1841) – Vietnam
• Poltys elevatus Thorell, 1890 – Indonesia (Sumatra)
• Poltys ellipticus Han, Zhang & Zhu, 2010 – China
• Poltys frenchi Hogg, 1899 – New Guinea, Indonesia (Moluccas), Australia (Queensland)
• Poltys grayi Smith, 2006 – Australia (Lord Howe Is.)
• Poltys hainanensis Han, Zhang & Zhu, 2010 – China
• Poltys horridus Locket, 1980 – Comoros, Seychelles
• Poltys idae (Ausserer, 1871) – China, Borneo
• Poltys illepidus C. L. Koch, 1843 (type) – Thailand to Australia (mainland, Lord Howe Is., Norfolk Is.)
• Poltys jujorum Smith, 2006 – Australia (Queensland)
• Poltys kochi Keyserling, 1864 – Mauritius, Madagascar
• Poltys laciniosus Keyserling, 1886 – Australia
• Poltys longitergus Hogg, 1919 – Indonesia (Sumatra)
• Poltys milledgei Smith, 2006 – Australia (Western Australia, Northern Territory), Indonesia (Bali, Sumbawa)
• Poltys mouhoti (Günther, 1862) – Vietnam
• Poltys nagpurensis Tikader, 1982 – Iran, India
• Poltys nigrinus Saito, 1933 – Taiwan
• Poltys noblei Smith, 2006 – Australia (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria)
• Poltys pannuceus Thorell, 1895 – Myanmar
• Poltys pogonias Thorell, 1891 – India (Nicobar Is.)
• Poltys pygmaeus Han, Zhang & Zhu, 2010 – China
• Poltys raphanus Thorell, 1898 – Myanmar
• Poltys reuteri Lenz, 1886 – Madagascar
• Poltys squarrosus Thorell, 1898 – Myanmar
• Poltys stygius Thorell, 1898 – Myanmar to Australia (Queensland)
• Poltys timmeh Smith, 2006 – New Caledonia, Loyalty Is.
• Poltys turriger Simon, 1897 – Vietnam
• Poltys turritus Thorell, 1898 – Myanmar
• Poltys unguifer Simon, 1909 – Vietnam
• Poltys vesicularis Simon, 1889 – Madagascar
• Poltys waipo Mi, Wang & Li, 2024 – China