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Gasteracantha mammosa

Asian Spinybacked Spider

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Image:	Female - colourful morph	93KB
Image:	Colourful morph and dark morph	96KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Asian Spinybacked Spider, Asian Spinyback Spider, Double-spotted Spiny Spider

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE India - Sri Lanka; EXOTIC EXOTIC se.Asia - Fiji - Cooks - Tuamotu, Hawai‘i; n. to Philippines; s. to Australia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; S.Group only (Mangaia only); Land, lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; poisonous bite

KEY FEATURES: Large, nearly vertical orb-web decorates with whtie tufts of fine silk with female at centre; males have smaller webs nearby. FEMALE ABDOMEN to 10mmØ with 6 thick spines (2 each side, 2 at rear); polymorphic but typically black and yellow-brown with extensive white markings including two central white "eyes"; sometimes uniformly black. MALE smaller, to 5mmØ, without obvious spines. Eggs in green, flattened egg-sacs near the web.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Spinybacked Orbweaver (Gasteracantha cancriformis, in Hawai‘i but NOT KNOWN in the Cooks) is white with black spots and red spines.

Enlarged Image of 'Gasteracantha mammosa'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
	++

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Gasteracantha mammosa C.L.Kock, 1844
SYNONYMS: Thelacantha brevispina (Doleschall, 1857)

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ARTHROPODA; CHELICERATA; ARACHNIDA; Araneae (=Araneida); Araneomorphae; ARANEIDAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: poisonous bite. Comments: Its spicky webs can be a residential nuisance; and it frequently bites people it comes into contact with. The bite is painful with localised swelling, and people who are allergic to insect bites should seek medical advice.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Mangaia: specimen+photo, 2006/12, several on road SE of Quarry, G.McCormack with ID as Gasteracanthus mammosa from Web data.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB06b, zM06b, zD06b

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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