''Arachnura'', also known as drag-tailed spider, scorpion-tailed spider and scorpion spider, is a
genus of
orb-weaver spiders that was first described by A. Vinson in 1863.
They are distributed across
Australasia,
Southern
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, M ...
and
Eastern Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...
with one species from
Africa.
Females can grow up to long, while males reach only long. The name is a combination of the
Ancient Greek "
arachne-" () and "
uro
Uro or URO may refer to:
* Aurochs, the predecessor of modern cattle
* Uro Bonsai technique; see deadwood bonsai techniques
* Uro, Delta, Nigeria
* ''Uro'' (film), directed by Stefan Faldbakken
* Uro (trucks), a Spanish truck manufacturer
* ''Ur ...
" (), meaning "tail". The tails are only present on females, but unlike the common names suggests, these spiders aren't related to
scorpions. They curl up their tails when disturbed, but they are completely harmless. Bites are rare, and result in minor symptoms such as local pain and swelling.
They stay at the middle of their web day and night, and their bodies mimic
plant litter, such as fallen flowers, twigs, or dead leaves.
''Arachnura logio'' is called Kijiro o-hiki-gumo in Japanese.
''A. feredayi'' is commonly called Tailed forest spider. ''A. higginsi'' is often found in large numbers near water in Australia.
Species
it contains twelve species, found in Africa, Oceania, and Asia:
*''
Arachnura angura''
Tikader, 1970 –
India
*''