Zygometis | |
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Scientific classification
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Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
Class: | Arachnida |
Order: | Araneae |
Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
Family: | Thomisidae |
Genus: |
Zygometis Simon, 1901 [1] |
Species: | Z. xanthogaster
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Binomial name | |
Zygometis xanthogaster (L. Koch, 1875)
[1]
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Synonyms [1] | |
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Zygometis is a genus of spider in the family Thomisidae described by Simon in 1901, containing the sole species Zygometis xanthogaster, or the milky flower spider or white flower spider, with a distribution from Thailand to Australia (including Lord Howe Island). [1] They are ambush predators.
They are cream-white in colour, with brownish-red lines on the cephalothorax and abdomen. [2] This coloration help them camouflage onto white flowers to ambush their prey. [2] Females are 6.5 mm, while males are 3 mm. [2]
In Australia, they live from coastal forests to semi-arid areas. [3] It is recorded in altitudes up to 661.5 m . [4]
They are "too small" to harm humans, and prey on insects by ambush. [2]