Pandercetes | |
---|---|
Pandercetes cf. celatus from the Western Ghats showing typical cryptic patterning | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
Class: | Arachnida |
Order: | Araneae |
Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
Family: | Sparassidae |
Genus: |
Pandercetes L. Koch, 1875 [1] |
Type species | |
P. gracilis L. Koch, 1875
| |
Species | |
16, see text |
Pandercetes is a genus of huntsman spiders that was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in his 1875 treatise on Australian spiders. [2] They are mainly distributed in tropical Asia and Australia, and are known for their cryptic coloration that matches local moss and lichen. Their legs have lateral hairs, giving them a feathery appearance, further masking their outline against tree trunks. Their head is somewhat elevated and the carapace has the thoracic region low and flat. [3]
The genus is characterized by the internal anatomy of the reproductive structures. Males have irregular coils at the terminal end, while females have screw like copulatory ducts. [4]
As of October 2019 [update] it contains sixteen species and one subspecies, found in tropical forests in Asia, extending east to Australia: [1]