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Spiny orb-weavers is a common name for Gasteracantha, a genus of . They are also commonly called Spiny-backed orb-weavers, due to the prominent spines on their abdomen. These spiders can reach sizes of up to 30mm in diameter (measured from spike to spike). Although their shell is shaped like a crab shell with spikes, it is not to be confused with a crab spider.

Species

• Gasteracantha aciculata (Pocock, 1899) (New Britain)
• Gasteracantha acutispina Dahl, 1914 (Sulawesi)
• Gasteracantha audouini Guérin, 1838 (Sumatra, Timor, Amboina, Philippines)
• Gasteracantha beccarii Thorell, 1877 (Sulawesi)
• Gasteracantha biloba (Thorell, 1878) (Moluccas, Amboina)
• Gasteracantha cancriformis (Linnaeus, 1758) (New World)
  • Gasteracantha cancriformis gertschi Archer, 1941 ( USA)
• Gasteracantha clarki Emerit, 1974 (Seychelles)
• Gasteracantha clavatrix (Walckenaer, 1842) (Lombok, Sulawesi, Mentawai Is.)
• Gasteracantha clavigera Giebel, 1863 (Thailand, Philippines, Sulawesi)
• Gasteracantha crucigera Bradley, 1877 (New Guinea)
• Gasteracantha curvispina (Guérin, 1837) (West, Central Africa, Bioko)
• Gasteracantha curvistyla Dahl, 1914 (Togian Is., near Sulawesi)
• Gasteracantha cuspidata C. L. Koch, 1837 (Malaysia, Nicobar Is., Java)

G. dalyi from Wayanad, India.

• Gasteracantha dalyi Pocock, 1900 (India, Pakistan)
• Gasteracantha diadesmia Thorell, 1887 (India to Philippines)
• Gasteracantha diardi (Lucas, 1835) (China, Thailand, Malaysia, Sunda Is.)
• Gasteracantha doriae Simon, 1877 (Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo)
• Gasteracantha falcicornis Butler, 1873 (Africa)
• Gasteracantha fasciata Guérin, 1838 (New Guinea, Guam)
• Gasteracantha flava Nicolet, 1849 (Chile)
• Gasteracantha fornicata (Fabricius, 1775) (Queensland)

Gasteracantha fornicata, first Australian spider to be described

• Gasteracantha frontata Blackwall, 1864 (India, Myanmar, Thailand, Flores, Borneo)
• Gasteracantha gambeyi Simon, 1877 (New Caledonia)
• Gasteracantha geminata (Fabricius, 1798) (India, Sri Lanka)
• Gasteracantha hasselti C. L. Koch, 1837 (India, China to Moluccas)
• Gasteracantha hecata (Walckenaer, 1842) (Philippines)
• Gasteracantha interrupta Dahl, 1914 (Lombok, Sulawesi)
• Gasteracantha irradiata (Walckenaer, 1842) (Thailand to Philippines, Sulawesi)
• Gasteracantha janopol Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 (Philippines)
• Gasteracantha kuhli C. L. Koch, 1837 (India to Japan, Philippines)
• Gasteracantha lepelletieri (Guérin, 1825) (Sumatra to Philippines, New Guinea)
• Gasteracantha lunata Guérin, 1838 (Timor, Moluccas, New Caledonia)
• Gasteracantha martensi Dahl, 1914 (Sumatra)
• Gasteracantha mediofusca (Doleschall, 1859) (Java, New Guinea)
• Gasteracantha mengei Keyserling, 1864 (Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo)
• Gasteracantha metallica (Pocock, 1898) (Solomon Is.)
• Gasteracantha milvoides Butler, 1873 (Central, East, Southern Africa)
• Gasteracantha notata Kulczyn'ski, 1910 (New Britain)
• Gasteracantha panisicca Butler, 1873 (Myanmar to Philippines, Java)
• Gasteracantha parangdiadesmia Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 (Philippines)
• Gasteracantha pentagona (Walckenaer, 1842) (New Ireland, New Britain)
  • Gasteracantha pentagona anirica Strand, 1915 (Bismarck Arch.)
• Gasteracantha picta (Thorell, 1892) (Singapore)
• Gasteracantha quadrispinosa O. P.-Cambridge, 1879 (New Guinea, Queensland)
• Gasteracantha recurva Simon, 1877 (Philippines)
• Gasteracantha regalis Butler, 1873 (New Hebrides)
• Gasteracantha remifera Butler, 1873 (India, Sri Lanka)
• Gasteracantha rhomboidea Guérin, 1838 (Mauritius)
  • Gasteracantha rhomboidea comorensis Strand, 1917 (Comoro Is.)
  • Gasteracantha rhomboidea madagascariensis Vinson, 1863 (Madagascar)
• Gasteracantha rubrospinis Guérin, 1838 (Lombok, Sulawesi, Moluccas, New Caledonia, Guam)
• Gasteracantha rufithorax Simon, 1881 (Madagascar)
• Gasteracantha sacerdotalis L. Koch, 1872 (New Guinea, Queensland, New Caledonia)
• Gasteracantha sanguinea Dahl, 1914 (Philippines)
• Gasteracantha sanguinolenta C. L. Koch, 1844 (Africa, São * Tomé Socotra)
  • Gasteracantha sanguinolenta andrefanae Emerit, 1974 (Madagascar)
  • Gasteracantha sanguinolenta bigoti Emerit, 1974 (Madagascar)
  • Gasteracantha sanguinolenta emeriti Roberts, 1983 (Aldabra)
  • Gasteracantha sanguinolenta insulicola Emerit, 1974 (Seychelles)
  • Gasteracantha sanguinolenta legendrei Emerit, 1974 (Europa Is.)
  • Gasteracantha sanguinolenta mangrovae Emerit, 1974 (Madagascar)
  • Gasteracantha sanguinolenta rueppelli (Strand, 1916) (Egypt)
• Gasteracantha sapperi Dahl, 1914 (New Guinea)
• Gasteracantha sauteri Dahl, 1914 (China, Taiwan)
• Gasteracantha scintillans Butler, 1873 (Solomon Is.)
• Gasteracantha signifera Pocock, 1898 (Solomon Is.)
  • Gasteracantha signifera bistrigella Strand, 1915 (Bismarck Arch.)
  • Gasteracantha signifera heterospina Strand, 1915 (Bismarck Arch.)
  • Gasteracantha signifera pustulinota Strand, 1915 (Bismarck Arch.)
• Gasteracantha simoni O. P.-Cambridge, 1879 (Central Africa)
• Gasteracantha sororna Butler, 1873 (India)
• Gasteracantha sturi (Doleschall, 1857) (Sumatra, Java, Moluccas)
• Gasteracantha subaequispina Dahl, 1914 (Borneo, New Guinea)
• Gasteracantha taeniata (Walckenaer, 1842) (India to Polynesia)
  • Gasteracantha taeniata analispina Strand, 1911 (New Guinea)
  • Gasteracantha taeniata anirensis Strand, 1911 (New Ireland)
  • Gasteracantha taeniata bawensis Strand, 1915 (New Guinea)
  • Gasteracantha taeniata jamurensis Strand, 1915 (New Guinea)
  • Gasteracantha taeniata lugubris Simon, 1898 (Solomon Is.)
  • Gasteracantha taeniata maculella Strand, 1911 (Aru Is.)
  • Gasteracantha taeniata novahannoveriana Dahl, 1914 (Bismarck Arch.)
  • Gasteracantha taeniata obsoletopicta Strand, 1915 (Indonesia)
  • Gasteracantha taeniata oinokensis Strand, 1915 (New Guinea)
  • Gasteracantha taeniata sentanensis Strand, 1915 (New Guinea)
  • Gasteracantha taeniata trivittinota Strand, 1911 (New Ireland)
  • Gasteracantha taeniata univittinota Strand, 1911 (New Ireland)
• Gasteracantha theisi Guérin, 1838 (New Guinea, Moluccas)
  • Gasteracantha theisii antemaculata Strand, 1911 (Aru Is.)
  • Gasteracantha theisii keyana Strand, 1911 (Kei Is.)
  • Gasteracantha theisii quadrisignatella Strand, 1911 (Indonesia)
• Gasteracantha thomasinsulae Archer, 1951 (São Tomé)
• Gasteracantha thorelli Keyserling, 1864 (Madagascar)
• Gasteracantha tondanae Pocock, 1897 (Sulawesi)
• Gasteracantha transversa C. L. Koch, 1837 (Sumatra, Java)
• Gasteracantha unguifera Simon, 1889 (India)
• Gasteracantha versicolor (Walckenaer, 1842) (Central, East, Southern Africa)
  • Gasteracantha versicolor avaratrae Emerit, 1974 (Madagascar)
  • Gasteracantha versicolor formosa Vinson, 1863 (Madagascar)
• Gasteracantha westringi Keyserling, 1864 (Australia, Admiralty Is., New Caledonia)

• Domain: Eukaryota Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
  • Kingdom: Animalia C. Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
    • Subkingdom: Bilateria (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
      • Branch: Protostomia Grobben, 1908 - protostomes
        • Infrakingdom: Ecdysozoa A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - ecdysozoans
          • Superphylum: Panarthropoda Cuvier
            • Phylum: Arthropoda Latreille, 1829 - Arthropods
              • Subphylum: Arachnomorpha Heider, 1913
                • Infraphylum: Cheliceriformes
                  • Superclass: Chelicerata
                    • Class: Arachnida Cuvier, 1812 - Arachnids
                      • Subclass: Micrura
                        • Order: Araneae C. Clerck, 1757 - Spiders
                          • Suborder: Opisthothelae Pocock, 1892 - Modern Spiders
                            • Infraorder: Araneomorphae Smith, 1902
                              • Superfamily: Araneoidea C. Clerck, 1757
                                • Family: Araneidae C. Clerck, 1757 - Orb Weavers
                                  • Genus: Gasteracantha Sundevall, 1833 - a genus of Orb Weavers (Araneidae)