Cyrtophora
Cyrtophora, the tent-web spiders, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1895. 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 long. Some members, including Cyrtophora cicatrosa, exhibit the ability to change colour rapidly.
A kleptoparasitic spider was found to live in a mutualistic relationships with Cyrtophora species. 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.
Species
, this genus includes 44 species and three subspecies:Cyrtophora admiralia Strand, 1913 – Admiralty Is.Cyrtophora beccarii – Laos, Malaysia to Australia Cyrtophora bicauda – TaiwanCyrtophora bidenta Tikader, 1970 – IndiaCyrtophora bimaculata Han, Zhang & Zhu, 2010 – ChinaCyrtophora bituberculata Roy, Saha & Raychaudhuri, 2017 – IndiaCyrtophora caudata Bösenberg & Lenz, 1895 – East Africa Cyrtophora cephalotes Simon, 1877 – PhilippinesCyrtophora cicatrosa – Pakistan to Australia Cyrtophora citricola – Southern Europe, Africa, Middle East, Pakistan, India, China, Japan. Introduced to Cuba, Dominican Rep. Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil- * C. c. lurida Karsch, 1879 – West Africa
- * C. c. minahassae Merian, 1911 – Indonesia
- * C. c. obscura Tullgren, 1910 – TanzaniaCyrtophora cordiformis – Indonesia, Australia Cyrtophora crassipes – Australia Cyrtophora cylindroides – China to Australia Cyrtophora diazoma – Indonesia Cyrtophora doriae – Indonesia, Papua New Guinea Cyrtophora eczematica – SinpaporeCyrtophora exanthematica – Myanmar to Philippines, Australia Cyrtophora feae – India to MyanmarCyrtophora forbesi – Indonesia Cyrtophora gazellae – Papua New Guinea Cyrtophora gemmosa Thorell, 1899 – Cameroon, Equatorial GuineaCyrtophora guangxiensis Yin, Wang, Xie & Peng, 1990 – ChinaCyrtophora hainanensis Yin, Wang, Xie & Peng, 1990 – ChinaCyrtophora hirta L. Koch, 1872 – Australia Cyrtophora ikomosanensis – Taiwan, JapanCyrtophora jabalpurensis Gajbe & Gajbe, 1999 – IndiaCyrtophora koronadalensis Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – PhilippinesCyrtophora ksudra Sherriffs, 1928 – IndiaCyrtophora lacunaris Yin, Wang, Xie & Peng, 1990 – ChinaCyrtophora lahirii Biswas & Raychaudhuri, 2004 – BangladeshCyrtophora larinioides Simon, 1895 – CameroonCyrtophora limbata – MyanmarCyrtophora lineata Kulczyński, 1910 – Solomon Islands, Bismarck Arch.Cyrtophora moluccensis – India to Japan, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Solomon Islands, Palau, Micronesia, Fiji, Tonga, French PolynesiaCyrtophora monulfi Chrysanthus, 1960 – Indonesia, Australia Cyrtophora nareshi Biswas & Raychaudhuri, 2004 – BangladeshCyrtophora parangexanthematica Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – PhilippinesCyrtophora parnasia L. Koch, 1872 – Australia Cyrtophora petersi Karsch, 1878 – Mozambique, South AfricaCyrtophora rainbowi – Australia Cyrtophora sextuberculata Tanikawa & Petcharad, 2015 – ThailandCyrtophora subacalypha – YemenCyrtophora trigona – Australia, New GuineaCyrtophora unicolor – India, Sri Lanka to Japan, Philippines, New Guinea, Australia