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Submitted: November 27, 2011
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Bird-Dung Crab Spider, Phrynarachne sp.by *melvynyeo

Photography / Macro / Nature

Found my first Bird-Dung Crab Spider! Happy!!!

The blobs and warts over the thick and somewhat glazed body surface give the "wet" and "lumpy" look of a piece of fresh bird excrement.

The spider reinforces the simulation of bird-droppings by drawing its legs close to the body and lying motionless on a leaf for long hours.

It sometimes sits on a small patch of white silk, which can be mistaken for the white stain caused by the bird-dung when it is splashed on the leaf. Some Phyrnarachne spiders emit a pronounced smell of faeces or urine. The sight and smell of bird-dropping may be a clever device to attract and ambush flies.

Crab spiders move sideways, like crabs. The body is not as hairy as in most spiders. They are slow-moving spiders which do not actively hunt like Wolf Spiders. Instead, they remain stationary and await in ambush for some unsuspecting insects to land in front of them.

The first two pairs of legs in most Crab Spiders are longer and heavier than the third and fourth pairs, and are armed with spines for holding and grasping prey.

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