Ground crab spider
Xysticus is a genus of ground crab spiders described by C. L. Koch in 1835, belonging to the order Araneae, family Thomisidae. The genus name is derived from th...
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Xysticus is a genus of ground crab spiders described by C. L. Koch in 1835, belonging to the order Araneae, family Thomisidae. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek root xyst, i.e. "scraper". The genus Xysticus is distributed almost worldwide, but has not been recorded in South America. About 20% of the 360 species of the genus currently described are present in Europe.
Xysticus spiders do not build webs; they are ambush hunters and prefer to hunt near the ground (hence the common name "ground crab spiders"). They move slowly, and commonly hunt by stationing themselves in a high-traffic area and grabbing whatever arthropod passes close enough, by seizing prey with their enlarged anterior two pairs of legs and kill it by a venomous bite.
I found this one in Troodos Mountains, Cyprus; it measures ~ 5 mm.
Nikon D750 & Venus 60mm f-2.8 2:1 Ultra-Macro
1-200, ISO 100, f-11, SB900 diffused flash
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Xysticus spiders do not build webs; they are ambush hunters and prefer to hunt near the ground (hence the common name "ground crab spiders"). They move slowly, and commonly hunt by stationing themselves in a high-traffic area and grabbing whatever arthropod passes close enough, by seizing prey with their enlarged anterior two pairs of legs and kill it by a venomous bite.
I found this one in Troodos Mountains, Cyprus; it measures ~ 5 mm.
Nikon D750 & Venus 60mm f-2.8 2:1 Ultra-Macro
1-200, ISO 100, f-11, SB900 diffused flash
Read less
Mar, 2016Views
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