''Gasteracantha interrupta'' is a species of spiny
orb-weaver spider in the genus ''
Gasteracantha''.
It is black and white in color, and it occurs in the
Lesser Sundas
The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up ...
and
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
.
Description
Female ''Gasteracantha interrupta'' spiders have hardened, shell-like abdomens that are black and white in color and armed with six spines.
Friedrich Dahl
Karl Friedrich Theodor Dahl (June 24, 1856 in Rosenhofer Brök north of Dahme, Holstein – June 29, 1929 in Greifswald) was a German zoologist, and in particular an arachnologist.
The son of a farmer, Dahl studied at the universities of Leipzi ...
described this species in 1914 based on five specimens from
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
and
Lombok. Dahl distinguished this species from another black-and-white species, the wide-ranging ''
Gasteracantha kuhli
''Gasteracantha kuhli'' is a species of spiny orb-weaver spider in the genus ''Gasteracantha'', widespread from India to Japan, the Philippines, and Java in Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southe ...
'', based on a plain white central area on the dorsal side of the abdomen and details of the
sigilla. In particular, Dahl noted that the outermost sigilla in the anterior row are very close to the anterior spines, instead of partway between the anterior and median spines. Between those outermost anterior sigilla and the median spines, the abdomen is white, whereas in ''G. kuhli'' this area usually has dark coloring. He also noted that the three sigilla extending back from the median spine toward the posterior edge of the abdomen form a concave curve in ''G. interrupta'' but a straight line in ''G. kuhli''.
The male of this species has not been scientifically described.
See also
*
List of Araneidae species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2651788
Spiders described in 1914
interrupta