Gea (spider)
Gea is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by C. L. Koch in 1843.
Distribution
Spiders of genus Gea are found from India to Australia, with four species in Africa. G. heptagon was introduced to North and South America.Description
The total length of spiders in this genus ranges from 4-6 mm in females and 3-4.5 mm in males.Gea differs from Argiope in having evenly spaced anterior eyes, and it differs from most araneid genera by having a strongly procurved posterior eye row and a low thoracic region of the carapace.
Gea specimens are smaller than Argiope and possess larger posterior median eyes. In females, the eyes of the posterior eye row are almost equally spaced, whereas in Argiope, the median eyes are positioned closer to each other than to the lateral eyes.
The abdomen is shield-shaped with lobes on the sides, and the coloration of the abdomen is variable, potentially featuring transverse lines or a dark folium. Another distinguishing character that separates Gea from other genera is the modified first tibia of the male, which is curved and armed with macro-setae.