Family THOMISIDAE Sundevall, 1833

Museums

Regional Maps

Introduction

The Thomisidae or Crab spiders are probably one of the most ubiquitous families in Australia and seem to adapt quite readily to the suburbs. They are sit-and-wait hunters in which the powerful front legs are held crab-like and seize prey much larger than they. They include many brightly coloured species and also drab and highly cryptic species (e.g., Stephanopis).

Excluded Taxa

Misidentifications

THOMISIDAE: Diaea Thorell, 1869 — Szymkowiak, P. 2014. Revision of Australian species of the genus Diaea (Araneae: Thomisidae) with redefinition of their taxonomic status. Annales Zoologici (Warsaw) 64(3): 333-477

Diagnosis

Typically colourful small spiders with laterigrade legs, no scopulae or true claw tufts but often strong paired spines on the ventral tibiae; the eyes are usually encircled by a ring of white pigment.

History of changes