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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Chelicerates (Chelicerata) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Spiders (Araneae) » True Spiders (Araneomorphae) » Entelegynae » Crab Spiders (Thomisidae)

Family Thomisidae - Crab Spiders

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
White spider - Mecaphesa Red Green spider - Misumena vatia - male Crab Spider - Mecaphesa Crab spider - Xysticus crab spiders - Misumena vatia - male - female Small Light Brown Spider - Mecaphesa Misumenoides formosipes possible - Misumenoides formosipes - male Crab spider - Misumessus oblongus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)
Class Arachnida (Arachnids)
Order Araneae (Spiders)
Infraorder Araneomorphae (True Spiders)
No Taxon (Entelegynae)
Family Thomisidae (Crab Spiders)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Note that many of the crab spiders in the genus Misumenops were transferred to the genus Mecaphesa in 2008(1)
Numbers
130 species in 9 genera in our region, although some authors split them into 10 genera (2).

We have 14 genera following the world spider catalog.
Size
1.5-11.3 mm(2)
Identification
Not diagnostic, but some helpful features:(2)
Front 2 pairs of legs longer and thicker than back 2
Eyes often on tubercles
2 claws
8 eyes
Flat bodied
Legs laterigrade

See discussion on identification of three common flower-inhabiting genera (Misumena, Misumenoides, and Misumenops (Mecaphesa)) here.
Range
Widespread
Habitat
Many genera are often found on flowers (Misumena, Misumenoides, and Misumenops (Mecaphesa)), while others are often found on tree bark or the ground (Bassaniana, Xysticus).
Food
Ambush hunters which often attack pollinators at flowers.
See Also
Philodromidae
Selenops
Sparassidae
Print References
Gertsch, W. J. (1939). A revision of the typical crab spiders (Misumeninae) of America north of Mexico. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 76: 277-442. (Full Text)

Schick, R. X. (1965). The crab spiders of California (Araneida, Thomisidae). Bulletin of the AMNH; v. 129, article 1. (Full Text Here)

Dondale, C. D., & Redner, J. H. (1978). The Crab Spiders of Canada and Alaska (Araneae: Philodromidae and Thomisidae)(The Insects and Arachnids of Canada, Part 5). Agriculture Canada Publication, 1663. (Full Text Here) - With free account
Internet References
University of Kentucky Entomology Dept. - Information specifically about Crab Spiders
Species Images
AMNH - Online Key to Genera
Works Cited
1.A Redefinition of Misumenops F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1900 (Araneae, Thomisidae) and Review of the New World Species
2.Spiders of North America: An Identification Manual
D. Ubick, P. Paquin, P.E. Cushing and V. Roth (eds). 2005. American Arachnological Society.
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 1:20pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, john and jane balaban, Beatriz Moisset, Lynette Elliott, Hartmut Wisch, Christopher Hunt, Jeff Hollenbeck, Aaron Schusteff, kschnei, ceiseman, Nathaniel Green
Last updated 9 March, 2021 - 2:00pm

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